IN-SITU AND VERY THIN MELANOMAS (LESS-THAN-0.75 MM) ARE SIMILARLY ANDCOMMONLY RECOGNIZABLE

Aims and background: Recent data have suggested that cutaneous melanom a in situ can be clinically recognized in most cases by its features, which resemble those of early invasive melanoma. The aim of the study was to verify whether the diagnostic sensitivity of melanoma in site i s actually equivalent to that of early invasive melanoma. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical diagnosis of 274 consecutive cut aneous melanoma <0.75 mm thick. The series consisted of 84 in situ and 190 invasive lesions. Results: The clinical diagnosis of melanoma was performed in 62% (52/84) of cases of in situ melanoma and in 68% (130 /190) of the cases of invasive melanoma. The differences were not stat istically significant. Conclusions: Our results show that cutaneous me lanoma can be clinically diagnosed at a very early stage. In situ and very thin melanomas (< 0.75 mm) are similarly recognizable.