Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jul 5;8(3):271-276.
doi: 10.3390/dermatopathology8030033.

"Animal-Type Melanoma/Pigmented Epithelioid Melanocytoma": History and Features of a Controversial Entity

Affiliations
Review

"Animal-Type Melanoma/Pigmented Epithelioid Melanocytoma": History and Features of a Controversial Entity

Gerardo Cazzato et al. Dermatopathology (Basel). .

Abstract

Animal-type melanoma (ATM) was first described in the literature by Levene in 1979 in relation to a patient with a characteristic clinical presentation, and only later, rare and anecdotal case series have tried to shed light on an entity that has undergone several nosographic classification changes, and which, since 2018, is classified under the term "pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma". Here, we conduct a brief review of the current literature on ATM and present a new clinical case with histopathological, immunophenotypic, and molecular investigations.

Keywords: animal-type; malignancies; melanoma; skin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Skin and subcutis including intensely pigmented melanocyte proliferation. (Hematoxylin-Eosin, Original Magnification: 4×). (B) Histological detail of melanocyte proliferation consisting of variously intertwined cells, with evident presence of melanic pigment. (Hematoxylin-Eosin, Original Magnification: 10×). (C) Immunohistochemical preparation with anti-Melan-A antibody which highlights the melanocyte proliferation in question (Immunohistochemistry, Original Magnification: 4×). (D) Detail of micrometastases in the sentinel lymph node (Hematoxylin-Eosin, Original Magnification: 4×).

References

    1. Levene A. Disseminated dermal melanocytosis terminating in melanoma. A human condition resembling equine melanotic disease. Br. J. Dermatol. 1979;101:197–205. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1979.tb05607.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Robledo-Sánchez A., Delgado Mucientes C., Manchado López P. Aggressive animal-type melanoma in a 79-year-old man. Rev. Clin. Esp. 2018;218:445–446. doi: 10.1016/j.rce.2018.03.011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Massi G., LeBoit P. Histological Diagnosis of Nevi and Melanoma. 2nd ed. Springer; New York, NY, USA: 2014.
    1. Crowson A.N., Magro C.M., Mihm M.C. Malignant melanoma with prominent pigment synthesis: “animal type” melanoma—A clinical and histological study of six cases with a consideration of other melanocytic neoplasms with prominent pigment synthesis. Hum. Pathol. 1999;30:543–550. doi: 10.1016/S0046-8177(99)90199-5. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Antony F.C., Sanclemente G., Shaikh H., Trelles A.S., Calonje E. Pigment synthesizing melanoma (so-called animal type melanoma): A clinicopathological study of 14 cases of a poorly known distinctive variant of melanoma. Histopathology. 2006;48:754–762. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2559.2006.02411.x. - DOI - PubMed