DIFFERENTIAL:

 malignant melanoma
 dysplastic nevi with features of Spitz nevus
 pigmented spindle cell nevus
 desmoplastic Spitz nevus
 plexiform spindle cell nevus - deep-penetrating nevus
 cellular blue nevus
 combined nevus
 epithelioid cell histiocytoma
 reticulohistiocytoma
 cellular neurothekeoma

Return to: melanocytic tumors

Cytogenetics

CGH (#15163005#)

LOH

Molecular

 copy number increases of chromosome 11p paralleled by mutations in the HRAS oncogene
 high expression of p16 (#15111324#)

References

 Harvell JD, Kohler S, Zhu S, Hernandez-Boussard T, Pollack JR, van de Rijn M. High-resolution array-based comparative genomic hybridization for distinguishing paraffin-embedded Spitz nevi and melanomas. Diagn Mol Pathol. 2004 Mar;13(1):22-5. PMID: #15163005#

 Maldonado JL, Timmerman L, Fridlyand J, Bastian BC. Mechanisms of cell-cycle arrest in Spitz nevi with constitutive activation of the MAP-kinase pathway. Am J Pathol. 2004 May;164(5):1783-7. PMID: #15111324#

 Bogdan I, Burg G, Boni R. Spitz nevi display allelic deletions. Arch Dermatol. 2001 Nov;137(11):1417-20. PMID: #11708943#