dys·plas·tic ne·vus

a nevus exceeding 5 mm in diameter, with irregular, indistinct, or notched borders and mixed tan-to-black and pink-to-red color. Microscopically these are basally nested and scattered intraepidermal melanocytes with hyperchromatic nuclei larger than those of basal keratinocytes. If multiple and associated with a family history of melanoma, these nevi have a high risk of malignant change, but isolated dysplastic nevi in the absence of a family history of melanoma are less frequently premalignant.
See also: malignant mole syndrome.

Synonym(s): dysplastic nevus syndrome

See: dysplastic nevus syndrome.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

dysplastic nevus

Dermatology A premalignant skin lesion characterized by irregular, > 5 mm in diameter macules numbering from a few to hundreds with a central papule, variegated dark color and lenticular changes

dys·plas·tic ne·vus

(dis-plastik nēvŭs)

Skin malformation exceeding 5 mm in diameter, with irregular, indistinct, or notched borders and colored tan-to-black and pink-to-red.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

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References in periodicals archive

Dysplastic nevus syndrome: a phenotypic association of sporadic cutaneous melanoma.

A Practical Approach to the Diagnosis of Melanocytic Lesions

Grossman referenced four cases in the medical literature in which the diagnosis was changed upon reexcision from dysplastic nevus to melanoma.

Margin status drives dysplastic nevi management

(2) On occasion, Spitz nevi may demonstrate greater degrees of atypia, characterized by higher-grade cytologic atypia, increased pagetoid scatter, and/or architectural overlap with dysplastic nevus, such that the terms dysplastic Spitz nevus or atypical Spitz nevus are used.

Atypical Spitz Tumors: A Diagnostic Challenge

Wallace Clark first described what has become known as the dysplastic nevus, an entity clearly distinct from melanoma at one end of the spectrum and common acquired nevus at the other, he said.

With dysplastic nevi, pause before you biopsy

The correct statement is: "The possibility exists that melanoma may someday be diagnosed at the biopsy site of an incompletely removed dysplastic nevus. Initially the question is, is it a recurrent nevus or a melanoma?

Correction

The 1 case in which nuclear expression was observed was reported as a junctional dysplastic nevus (data not shown).

Expression of soluble adenylyl cyclase in lentigo maligna: use of immunohistochemistry with anti-soluble adenylyl cyclase antibody (R21) in diagnosis of lentigo maligna and assessment of margins

* Melanoma misdiagnosed as "dysplastic nevus involving margins." Reexcise if margins are positive.

Melanoma misdiagnosis often prompts lawsuits

Several proof-of-principle studies showed potential applications of FISH to solve a variety of diagnostic dilemmas in the evaluation of melanocytic tumors, including differentiating blue nevus-like metastasis from blue nevus, mitotically active nevus from nevoid melanoma, and dysplastic nevus from superficial spreading melanoma.

Correlation between histologic assessment and fluorescence in situ hybridization using MelanoSITE in evaluation of histologically ambiguous melanocytic lesions

"The familial melanoma syndrome is not equivalent to the dysplastic nevus syndrome," a mantra that should prompt doctors to ask patients about their family histories even if patients don't look like they have any melanoma risk factors, she said.

Family history greatest risk factor for melanoma: risk is cumulative

The concept of the dysplastic nevus (DN) and its association with melanoma entered the literature around 1978 with the description by Clark et al (24) of the familial BK mole syndrome, (24,25) a concept subsequently clarified and expanded to include nonfamilial, sporadic cases.

The recurrent nevus phenomenon: a history of challenge, controversy, and discovery

The main differential diagnoses include dysplastic nevus and vulvar melanoma.

Atypical genital nevus

(44) Dysplastic nevi can be sporadic or inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion (dysplastic nevus syndrome), and both are related to increased risk for developing melanoma.

Melanoma in children