DEMOGRAPHIC-STUDY OF CLINICALLY ATYPICAL (DYSPLASTIC) NEVI IN PATIENTS WITH MELANOMA AND COMPARISON SUBJECTS

Abstract

Patients [296] with a history of melanoma and 145 controls for the presence of atypical (dysplastic) nevi were examined. Patients (34%) with melanoma and 7% of controls had clinically atypical (dysplastic) nevi. Patients and controls with atypical (dysplastic) nevi had more nevi than the subjects without. The number of nevi varies negatively and significantly with age (r = -0.37, P < 0.001). Ten % of patients and controls had hypopigmented halos around 1 or more nevi. Both patients and comparison subjects with atypical (dysplastic) nevi tended to have this subtle variant of halo nevi more often than those without (r = 0.17, P < 0.01). The number of nevi on the irides of melanoma patients was greater than that in the comparison group. Apparently patients with a melanoma exhibit more commonly cutaneous and ocular pigmentary lesions than comparison subjects without a melanoma.