Melanocytic Proliferations
A Case-Based Approach to Melanoma Diagnosis

Melanocytic Proliferations: A Case-Based Approach to Melanoma Diagnosis provides a practical, case-based approach to the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of this challenging area of dermatopathology.

The incidence of melanoma has rapidly increased since the 1970s among young men and women in the US and in Europe. Melanoma represents a high proportion of the Western dermatopathologist?s caseload but whereas basal and squamous cell carcinomas are relatively straightforward to diagnose, melanocytic proliferations are notoriously challenging to identify correctly. Given the potential risks associated with misdiagnosis, dermatopathologists and dermatologists need to have a thorough knowledge of this area.

There are numerous atlases and encyclopaedic references available that cover this disease, but this book offers a unique, case-based approach to the diagnosis of melanoma. Using clinical scenarios to guide the reader through the differential diagnosis and highly structured text that explains the requisite diagnostic tests and how to interpret the results they provide; the book explains how to discriminate between similar-looking presentations and avoid diagnostic pitfalls.

Featuring the latest AJCC (American Joint Committee on Cancer) staging system guidelines, the text is lavishly illustrated with over 300 top-quality colour photos and authored by key educators in dermatopathology, to provide a practical and innovative resource designed to help clinicians improve their diagnostic acumen in the face of this most challenging of diseases.

Key points

• Practical, case-based guide to diagnosis and differential diagnosis of melanoma
• Explains discrimination between similar-looking presentations and avoidance of diagnostic pitfalls
• Edited by internationally recognised, Massachusetts-based expert in the field
• Features latest AJCC staging system guidelines

1          Intraepidermal melanocytic proliferations

2          Dermal melanocytic proliferations

3          Sclerosing and desmoplastic melanocytic proliferations

4          Epithelioid and spindle cell melanocytic proliferations

5          Hyperpigmented melanocytic proliferations

6          Site-specific melanocytic proliferations

7          Inflamed and fibrotic melanocytic proliferations

8          Staging of melanocytic proliferations

9          Assessment of prognostic factors in melanocytic proliferations

10        Clinical management of melanocytic proliferations

Alireza Sepehr MD
Assistant Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Attending Dermatopathologist, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Boston, Massachusetts; Residency (and Chief Residency): Pathology, Clinical Fellow in Gastrointestinal Pathology, Clinical Fellow in Dermatopathology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Harvard Medical School, USA