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Case Reports
. 2021 Mar 22:2021:6672528.
doi: 10.1155/2021/6672528. eCollection 2021.

Halo Nevi Are Not Trivial: About 2 Young Patients of Regressed Primary Melanoma That Simulates Halo Nevi

S De Schrijver  1 , I Theate  2 , O Vanhooteghem  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Halo Nevi Are Not Trivial: About 2 Young Patients of Regressed Primary Melanoma That Simulates Halo Nevi

S De Schrijver et al. Case Rep Dermatol Med. .

Abstract

Background: Halo nevi are often considered benign, and the possibility of malignancy is not always clear to practitioners. We present two case reports suggesting that a halo nevus appearance can be seen in melanoma, even in young adults. A literature search for halo nevi revealing melanoma shows that this is a very rare condition. Case presentation. This report of two young patients indicates the importance of obtaining a detailed history to detect warning signs such as itching, pain, spontaneous bleeding, and previous alterations according to the patient, including a previously totally black colour in an already fully regressed melanoma.

Conclusions: The risk of a halo nevus being malignant is higher if there is only one unique halo nevus and no personal or familial history of vitiligo. We postulate that a regressing atypical nevus or a regressing melanoma may be induced by an immunologic reaction as halo nevus type of clinical picture.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Halo nevus on the left upper arm. The central part shows only a light shadow while the rest of the lesion is depigmented.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Intradermal atypical nevus cells in the left part of the biopsy, contrasting with regression in the right part (HE 5x).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Signs of extensive regression in the superficial dermis, lacking atypical melanocytes (HE 20x).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Nevus on the right temporal area surrounded by a symmetrical rim of depigmentation.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The lesion is characterized by atypical junctional activity and signs of extensive regression in the superficial dermis (HE × 10).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Immunohistochemistry shows bridging and pagetoid spread of atypical melanocytes (Melan A red × 10).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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