Agminated acquired melanocytic nevi of the common and dysplastic type

• Published in: Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Vol. 52; no. 1; pp. 67 - 73
• Main Authors: Bragg, Jennifer W., Swindle, Lucinda, Halpern, Allan C., Marghoob, Ashfaq A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Mosby, Inc 2005; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Dermatology; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Nevus, Pigmented - pathology; Phenotype; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Tumors of the skin and soft tissue. Premalignant lesions; UVR; DNS; DN; LOH; Dermatome; Skin disease; Acquired; Dermatology; Melanocytic nevus
• ISSN: 0190-9622; 1097-6787
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaad.2004.05.033

We previously reported a single case of agminated acquired melanocytic nevi, consisting of a localized clustering of banal and atypical moles. We now report 4 more cases, confirming that the initial case was not an isolated finding. We examined the lesions clinically, with a dermoscope, with a Wood's light, and in 3 cases with UV photography so as to exclude nevus spilus from the differential diagnosis. The presence of an underlying dysplastic nevus syndrome phenotype in 4 of the 5 cases raises the possibility that agminated nevi arise as a consequence of postzygotic loss of heterozygosity and, thus, may represent a type 2 segmental manifestation of the atypical mole syndrome phenotype. Further studies of similar cases using microdissection techniques for analysis of loss of heterozygosity pattern are warranted.