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Cohen YK, Elpern DJ, Wolpowitz D, et al. Glowing in the dark: case report of a clue-poor melanoma unmasked by polarized dermatoscopy. Dermatol Pract Concept. 2014;4(1):83-7doi: 10.5826/dpc.0401a14.
Cohen, Y. K., Elpern, D. J., Wolpowitz, D., & Rosendahl, C. (2014). Glowing in the dark: case report of a clue-poor melanoma unmasked by polarized dermatoscopy. Dermatology practical & conceptual, 4(1), 83-7. https://doi.org/10.5826/dpc.0401a14
Cohen, Yoon K, et al. "Glowing in the dark: case report of a clue-poor melanoma unmasked by polarized dermatoscopy." Dermatology practical & conceptual vol. 4,1 (2014): 83-7. doi: https://doi.org/10.5826/dpc.0401a14
Cohen YK, Elpern DJ, Wolpowitz D, Rosendahl C. Glowing in the dark: case report of a clue-poor melanoma unmasked by polarized dermatoscopy. Dermatol Pract Concept. 2014 Jan 31;4(1):83-7. doi: 10.5826/dpc.0401a14. eCollection 2014 Jan. PMID: 24520521; PMCID: PMC3919847.
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Dermatol Pract Concept. 2014 Jan 31;4(1):83-7. doi: 10.5826/dpc.0401a14. eCollection 2014 Jan.

Glowing in the dark: case report of a clue-poor melanoma unmasked by polarized dermatoscopy.

Dermatology practical & conceptual

Yoon K Cohen, David J Elpern, Deon Wolpowitz, Cliff Rosendahl

Affiliations

  1. The Skin Clinic, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA.
  2. Department of Dermatology and Section of Dermatopathology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
  3. School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

PMID: 24520521 PMCID: PMC3919847 DOI: 10.5826/dpc.0401a14

Abstract

We report a case of a melanoma arising in a congenital-type compound nevus, which was excised because it was observed by both the patient and the treating dermatologist to have changed. Because the lesion was routinely photo-documented with both polarized and non-polarized dermatoscopy images prior to excision, these images were available for subsequent examination. Matched images are presented in what appears to be unique in the published literature: polarizing-specific white lines are identified as a compelling clue to the diagnosis of melanoma in a lesion that contains no clues apparent in the non-polarized image. Dermatopathology images reveal that the melanoma is arising in conjunction with a congenital type nevus. As expected, dermatoscopic polarizing-specific white lines are evident on the melanoma but not the nevus, and while a possible explanation is discussed, this remains speculative.

Keywords: BLINCK algorithm; chaos and clues algorithm; chrysalis; congenital-type nevus; dermatopathology; melanoma; nevus; polarized dermatoscopy; polarized dermoscopy; polarizing-specific white lines

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