Faculty Collaboration Database

Comparing Follicular Extension Between Low-Grade and High-Grade Dysplastic Nevi. Am J Dermatopathol 2023 Jun 01;45(6):423-424

Date

04/19/2023

Pubmed ID

37073986

DOI

10.1097/DAD.0000000000002438

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85159741675 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)

Abstract

Dysplastic nevi are an important subset of melanocytic nevi with atypical clinical, histopathologic, as well as genomic features compared with common acquired nevi. Dysplastic nevi are characterized histologically by both cytologic atypia and architectural disorder. The established criteria for cytologic atypia used to distinguish between low-grade and high-grade dysplastic nevi are often subjective, although there is a dearth of more objective, reproducible features of architectural disorder (eg, pagetoid scatter) that have been validated to differentiate between low-grade and high-grade dysplastic nevi. In this study, we sought to determine whether the presence and degree of follicular extension differ between low-grade and high-grade dysplastic nevi. We retrospectively examined the histopathologic features of 90 dysplastic nevi: 60 cases of low-grade dysplastic nevi (average age of 47.2 ± 18.1 years; 62.7% female) and 30 cases of high-grade dysplastic nevi (average age of 47.4 ± 19.8 years; 60.0% female). After examination, 50% of the cases of dysplastic nevi (n = 45) had hair follicles within the lesion, for which the presence and degree of follicular extension was then determined. Low-grade and high-grade dysplastic nevi do not differ significantly regarding the presence of follicular extension, average depth of follicular extension, and confluence of nevus cells along the follicular epithelium. Both low-grade and high-grade dysplastic nevi in our study demonstrated follicular extension that was superficial, that is, above the level of isthmus of hair follicles (insertion of sebaceous gland into hair follicle). Future studies are warranted to confirm these preliminary findings.

Author List

Grube VL, Narla S, Mata DA, Hafeez F

Author

Shanthi Narla MD Assistant Professor in the Dermatology department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Aged
Dysplastic Nevus Syndrome
Female
Humans
Hyperplasia
Male
Middle Aged
Nevus
Nevus, Pigmented
Retrospective Studies
Skin Neoplasms