José R. Mazuecos-Gutiérrez, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Valme, Sevilla, España
Isabel Mª Coronel-Pérez, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Valme, Sevilla, España
José Mazuecos-Blanca, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Valme, Sevilla, España
Jerónimo Escudero-Ordóñez, Servicio de Dermatología, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Valme, Sevilla, España
Introduction: Acral melanoma (AM) is a subtype of cutaneous melanoma that represents 5-10% of all melanoma cases and is the most frequent subtype in non-Caucasian populations. Objectives: To establish the clinical-pathological characteristics of patients with AM since our Pigmentary Lesions Unit was established.
Material and method: A retrospective study of a series of data of patients with AM from 2008 to 2018 has been carried out. Results: 15 cases of AM (4.2%) have been diagnosed out of a total of 357 cutaneous melanomas. There were 8 female and 7 male patients, with a mean age of 58.8 years (range between 24 and 92 years). 10 cases have been diagnosed in the sole of the foot (66.7%) and 5 cases in the nail unit (33.3%), two in the thumb and three in the hallux. There were 11 cases (73.3%) of acral lentiginous melanoma, 2 cases (13.3%) of superficial spreading melanoma and 2 cases of nodular melanoma. There were 2 patients with stage 0 (13.3%), 8 patients with stage I (53.3%), 3 patients with stage II (20%) and 2 patients with stage III (13.3%). The mean Breslow index was 1.45 mm (range from 0 to 5.5 mm). This mean was 0.47 mm in nail melanomas and 1.93 mm in plantar melanomas (p <0.05). Clark levels were also lower in nail melanomas than plantar melanomas (p = 0.077). Conclusions: Our case series has presented clinical-histopathological parameters with a good or acceptable prognosis, being better in nail melanomas than in plantar melanomas.
Keywords: Acral melanoma. Plantar melanoma. Subungual melanoma.