OncoTargets and Therapy (Apr 2021)

Desmoplastic Melanoma: A Clinicopathological Analysis of Three Cases in the Chinese Population

  • Fan Y,
  • Xu M,
  • Liang Y,
  • Wu N,
  • Wang F,
  • Du Q,
  • Bai Y,
  • Liu Y

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 14
pp. 2651 – 2660

Abstract

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Yaqi Fan,1 Mingyuan Xu,2 Yulin Liang,2 Nanhui Wu,2 Feiyan Wang,3 Qian Du,2 Yun Bai,1 Yeqiang Liu1 1Department of Pathology, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200050, People’s Republic of China; 2Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Shanghai, 200443, People’s Republic of China; 3Shanghai Skin Disease Clinical College of Anhui Medical University, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Shanghai, 200443, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yeqiang Liu; Yun BaiDepartment of Pathology, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1278 Bao’de Road, Shanghai, 200443, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 21 61833180Email [email protected]; [email protected]: To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and immunophenotype of desmoplastic melanoma (DM) in the Chinese population.Patients and Methods: We report three cases of DM diagnosed by the Pathology Department of Shanghai Dermatology Hospital. We describe the clinical and pathological characteristics of the three cases and examine molecular markers used in the diagnosis of DM. Finally, we summarize the current literature in the DM field.Results: Clinically, lesions in the three DM patients were characterized by non-pigmented nodules or papules. Microscopically, we observed an abundance of fibrous interstitium mixed with spindle cells exhibiting various degrees of atypia. Occasionally, these structures exhibited changes in lentigo maligna at the epidermal junction, accompanied by the presence of lymphoid follicular structures and neurophilic behavior. Diagnosis of DM was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining, which revealed high expression levels of S-100 and SOX-10. Melanocyte markers were focally positive or negative. Unlike DMs from other populations, our three patients were negative for WT-1 and P53. All three cases received surgical resection, which is the preferred treatment for DM, and none of the patients experienced recurrence.Conclusion: DM in these Chinese patients was similar to that observed in other DM populations in terms of immunophenotype and clinical and histological features. A notable absence in p53 staining was observed in the three cases reported here, suggesting that p53 negativity should not exclude the diagnosis of DM in the Chinese population.Keywords: desmoplastic melanoma, uneven pigmented nodules, histology, Chinese population, immunophenotypes

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