THE DESMOPLASTIC MELANOCYTIC NEVUS - A DISTINCT HISTOLOGICAL ENTITY

Fifteen cases of desmoplastic melanocytic naevi are described in 12 fe male and three male patients, ranging in age from 8 to 8 3 years. The commonest site for the lesions was the upper limb. The lesions were ch aracterized by a dense sclerotic or desmoplastic appearance of the der mal collagen surrounding a population of predominantly epithelioid nae vus cells, some of which had a bizarre but non-malignant cytology. The cause of the stromal change is not established. We suggest that these lesions constitute a discrete entity which should be described in sta ndard textbooks of dermatopathology.