Atypical spitzoid melanocytic tumors with positive sentinel lymph nodes in children and teenagers, and comparison with histologically unambiguous and lethal melanomas

Abstract

Children and teenagers with a positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) after a prior diagnosis of an atypical spitzoid melanocytic tumor (ASMT) are usually cared for clinically in the same way as patients with melanoma. Little is known about long-term follow-up of these individuals to determine whether this practice is appropriate. To learn more about the biology of these tumors we retrospectively reviewed the clinical and pathologic findings of children and teenagers (<18 y of age at the time of diagnosis) with an ASMT, positive SLN and follow-up of at least 3 years. Their findings were compared with histologically unambiguous melanomas of children or teenagers, who had a positive SLN or died of metastatic melanoma. Eleven individuals, 6 girls and 5 boys, with primary ASMT and positive SLN were identified. The primary tumors ranged in thickness from 2.1 to 12 mm (median, 4.6 mm; mean, 5 mm). The tumor mitotic rate ranged from 1 to 10 mitoses/mm (median, 3/mm, median, 3/mm). The positive SLNs included 6 nodes with intranodal melanocytic aggregates measuring <1 mm in greatest dimension, and 5 nodes, in which the size of the melanocyte deposits was >/=1 mm. All the patients with ASMT and positive SLN remained free of disease with a median follow-up of 47 months (mean, 61 mo, range: 36 to 132 mo). In contrast, 2 of 5 patients <18 years of age with a histologically unambiguous melanoma and a positive SLN died of metastatic melanoma. The overall disease-specific mortality rate for all patients <18 years of age diagnosed with melanoma was 12%. Our findings confirm that children and teenagers with ASMTs and positive SLNs have a less aggressive clinical course than those with histologically unambiguous melanoma.