- “Benign Juvenile Melanomas” or Spindle Cell Naevi
- Appear predominantly in children on face
- Variable vascularity, pigmentation (red-brown), hyperkeratosis
- Clinically
- The classic Spitz naevus is typically a dome-shaped red, reddish-brown papule.
- A pigmented Spitz naevus is a tan or brown papule or nodule.
- A pigmented spindle cell tumour of Reed is a bluish or black papule.
- Histology
- Variant of compound naevi
- Has junctional & dermal components
- Spindle-shaped melanocytes in dermis
- Telangiectasia at dermal-epidermal border
- Mitotic figures common
- Lacks an invading edge
- May be difficult to distinguish from melanoma
- Management
- Childeren
- Observe dermoscopically
- Or excise
- Adults
- Because of the difficulty in definitively predicting the outcome of Spitz naevi in older children or adults, or if the structure of the lesion is not uniform, they are generally excised
