Dermatoscopy of amelanotic and hypomelanotic melanoma

Abstract

Amelanotic melanoma is a subtype of cutaneous melanoma without pigment. The clinical diagnosis is challenging because it may mimic benign or malignant melanocytic and non-melanocytic neoplasms and inflammatory skin diseases. In synchrony with the improvement of the diagnosis of pigmented lesions, dermatoscopy may assist the clinician in the diagnosis of non-pigmented skin neoplasms in general and of amelanotic melanoma in particular. We have searched the literature to extract the most relevant dermatoscopic clues to diagnose amelanotic and hypomelanotic melanomas by dermatoscopy. In addition we present eight consecutive cases and discuss their clinical and dermatoscopic characteristics in the light of published data.