NUCLEAR MORPHOMETRY IN XERODERMA PIGMENTOSUM-ASSOCIATED MALIGNANT MELANOMAS

Previous clinical observations have indicated that the metastatic pote ntial for thick malignant melanoma is lower for patients with xeroderm a pigmentosum than for other patients. In a prospective study using co mputerized image analysis to measure the morphometric characteristics of nuclei in these neoplasms, we found that the nuclei of malignant me lanoma cells were smaller and more ovoid in patients with xeroderma pi gmentosum than in other patients. Objective evaluation and grading of these subtle histopathologic variables could provide a means of establ ishing prognostic factors unrelated to the thickness of the neoplasm.