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Desmoplastic malignant melanoma (A rare variant of spindle cell melanoma)
Author(s) -
Conlev John,
Lattes Raffaele,
Orr William
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(1971)28:4<914::aid-cncr2820280415>3.0.co;2-e
Subject(s) - melanoma , medicine , head and neck , pathology , malignant transformation , cancer research , surgery
This is a detailed report of seven cases presenting a peculiar sequence of events which, starting from inconspicuous superficial melanotic lesions, generally located in the head and neck regions leads to the production of bulky subcutaneous tumefactions. These have the clinical and histologic appearance of locally invasive fibrous tumors. However, the elongated neoplastic cells are cytologically different from neoplastic fibroblasts, and these tumors behave as highly malignant stubbornly recurring and often metastasizing neoplasms. Some of the recurrences, as well as some of the metastases, are histologically acceptable as malignant melanoma of the more usual type. This appears to be a hitherto undescribed clinicopathologic entity, for which we suggest the term “desmoplastic malignant melanoma.”.