What Does A Mole On Body Indicate?

Brief Answer: Dysplastic nevi Detailed Answer: Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your concern and I have understood it. I would like to gather some more information from you in order to be able to help you better. --How long has it been there? --Has it changes anyways since you first noticed it, in terms of size, shape, color, borders etc --Do you have any more similar looking moles/dysplastic nevi? A dysplastic nevus is a type of mole that looks different from a common mole. While normal moles are round or oval, less than 5 mm in diameter, even colored. Dysplastic nevus, on the other hand, has irregular and notches edges, often wider than 5 mm and a mixture of different shades. However, most dysplastic nevi do not turn into melanoma. The chance of melanoma is about ten times greater for someone with more than five dysplastic nevi than for someone who has none, and the more dysplastic nevi a person has, the greater the chance of developing melanoma. Dermoscopic evaluation of structural features and pigment distribution can be fairly accurately used to distunguish between a dysplastic nevus and a melanoma, however it can be extremely difficult or impossible to distinguish melanoma from atypical naevus, therefore the need for a biopsy and histological evaluation. 1) He must have found features suggestive more of a dysplastic nevi on dermoscopy, rather than of a melanoma, but since he wants to be absolutely sure about the diagnosis therefore he must have biopsied it. 2) Naked eye cannot distinguish between a dysplastic nevi and a melanoma however as i told you before, the chances of a melanoma are more (10 times) if someone has more than 5 dysplastic nevi. Dermoscopy and histological evaluation can reliably distinguish between a dysplastic nevus and melanoma. regards

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Brief Answer: Dysplastic nevi Detailed Answer: Hi. Thanks for mentioning the size of the lesion. Size of 5mm or less more likely suggests a dysplastic nevus. Your doctor may have relied on size of the lesion to think more in favor of a dysplastic nevus. As i mentioned before, size >5 mm, irregular edges, irregular pigmentation and various shades of colors can be seen in both dysplastic nevus as well as an early melanoma. Therefore, any increase/change in size or change in shape or color vareigation etc strongly suggests early melanoma. However,since you were unaware of its presence therefore biopsy hold the key to the correct diagnosis. The key is any recent change!! A dermoscope magnifies and allows visualization of internal structures and colors not seen by the naked eye. Possible structure that can be seen in an atypical nevi are: Reticular, Globular OR Homogeneous. Whereas the presence of all 3 structures is very suggestive of a melanoma. It has also been shown that naevi showing complex dermoscopic pattern are more prevalent in patients who develop melanoma. Other dermoscopic features of atypical naevi may include: Dermoscopic regression structures (white scar-like areas and grey peppering), Irregular vascular pattern, Grey-blue areas. The distribution of pigment is very asymetrical in melanoma. To summarize, Where the nevus is sufficiently atypical and particularly when a single nevus is present then it should be removed in its entirety with a 2mm margin and subjected to pathological examination to exclude in-situ melanoma. I think you should wait for the biopsy result to be absolutely sure about the diagnosis, that is what your doctor would also have told to you. If he could distinguish between a dysplastic nevus and an early melanoma, with certainity then what was the need to biopsy? regards

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