Dermoscopic Evaluation of Nodular Melanoma

Early diagnosis of nodular melanomas (NMs) remains challenging. They are often thicker at presentation and frequently lack the classical “ABCD” features commonly associated with melanoma. To determine dermoscopic features that identify NM, investigators collected digital dermoscopic images of 467 tumors of different types from centers on five continents.

Of these tumors, 83 were NM, 134 were invasive non-NM, 115 were nodular benign melanocytic tumors, and 135 were nodular nonmelanocytic tumors. Twelve scorers examined 99 individual features in each lesion. Median Breslow thickness of NM (2.7 mm) was significantly greater than that of the nonnodular invasive melanoma (0.7 mm; P<0.001). NM was less frequently pigmented (62.7%) than nonnodular …