Academic Journal
Dermoscopic characteristics of Merkel cell carcinoma
| Title: | Dermoscopic characteristics of Merkel cell carcinoma |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Dimitra Koumaki, Georgios Evangelou, Alexander C. Katoulis, Zoe Apalla, Aimilios Lallas, Marios Papadakis, Stamatios Gregoriou, Elizabeth Lazaridou, Konstantinos Krasagakis |
| Source: | BMC Cancer BMC Cancer, Vol 24, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2024) |
| Publisher Information: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2024. |
| Publication Year: | 2024 |
| Subject Terms: | Skin Neoplasms, Microscopy, Confocal, Research, Microscopy, Confocal/methods [MeSH], Dermoscopy, Humans [MeSH], Polyomavirus, Skin Neoplasms/pathology [MeSH], Dermoscopy/methods [MeSH], Polymorphous vessels, Carcinoma, Merkel Cell/pathology [MeSH], Neuroendocrine carcinoma, Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), Skin Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging [MeSH], Carcinoma, Merkel Cell/diagnostic imaging [MeSH], Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens, 3. Good health, Carcinoma, Merkel Cell, 03 medical and health sciences, 0302 clinical medicine, Humans, RC254-282 |
| Description: | Background Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare, aggressive, cutaneous tumour with high mortality and frequently delayed diagnosis. Clinically, it often manifests as a rapidly growing erythematous to purple nodule usually located on the lower extremities or face and scalp of elderly patients. There is limited available data on the dermoscopic findings of MCC, and there are no specific features that can be used to definitively diagnose MCC. Aim of the study Here, we aimed to summarize existing published literature on dermatoscopic and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) features of MCC. Materials and methods To find relevant studies, we searched the PubMed and Scopus databases from inception to April 12, 2023. Our goal was to identify all pertinent research that had been written in English. The following search strategy was employed: (“ dermoscopy” OR “ dermatoscopy” OR “ videodermoscopy” OR “ videodermatoscopy” OR “ reflectance confocal microscopy”) AND “ Merkel cell carcinoma”. Two dermatologists, DK and GE, evaluated the titles and abstracts separately for eligibility. For inclusion, only works written in English were taken into account. Results In total 16 articles were retrieved (68 cases). The main dermoscopic findings of MCC are a polymorphous vascular pattern including linear irregular, arborizing, glomerular, and dotted vessels on a milky red background, with shiny or non-shiny white areas. Pigmentation was lacking in all cases. The RCM images showed a thin and disarranged epidermis, and small hypo-reflective cells that resembled lymphocytes arranged in solid aggregates outlined by fibrous tissue in the dermis. Additionally, there were larger polymorphic hyper-reflective cells that likely represented highly proliferative cells. Conclusion Dermoscopic findings of MCC may play a valuable role in evaluating MCC, aiding in the early detection and differentiation from other skin lesions. Further prospective case-control studies are needed to validate these results. |
| Document Type: | Article Other literature type |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 1471-2407 |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12885-024-12566-2 |
| Access URL: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38951767 https://doaj.org/article/a2b35a50f69b46fc85950733eb694786 https://repository.publisso.de/resource/frl:6522008 |
| Rights: | CC BY URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) . The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) ) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. |
| Accession Number: | edsair.doi.dedup.....1c8d9e7a8d576460806cbb7648e70c43 |
| Database: | OpenAIRE |
| ISSN: | 14712407 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12885-024-12566-2 |