Spitz Nevus

Aka: Spitz Nevus, Benign Juvenile Melanoma

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II. Epidemiology

  1. Most common in children

III. Pathophysiology

  1. Not a cancer (named only for it's similarity of histology to Melanoma)
  2. Increased vascular supply gives the lesion its color

IV. Signs

  1. Hairless
  2. Red to red-brown dome-shaped Papules to Nodules
  3. Variable surface (smooth to verrucous)
  4. Size varies from 0.3 to 1.5 cm
  5. Typically of sudden onset

V. Management

  1. Excise due to histologic similarities to Melanoma
  2. Alert pathologist to the gross examination findings suggestive of Spitz Nevus

VI. Reference

  1. Habif (2003) Clinical Dermatology, 4th ed.. Mosby, p. 773-813

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