Clinical and dermoscopic features of acral melanocytic nevi in African Patients, Pietersburg Hospital

Abstract

Background: Acral melanocytic nevi (AMN) of volar skin are common in Asians, Africans, Caucasians and Indians. Some cutaneous melanomas arise from AMN, and it is difficult to determine which nevus will become malignant clinically. Dermoscopic evaluation of nevi has been used to describe various patterns, some of which have been found to be associated with melanoma. Most of these studies were conducted in Caucasians and hence a paucity of literature in Africans. Objective: To describe the clinical and dermoscopic features of acral melanocytic nevi in African patients at Pietersburg Hospital. Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional method was used in the study. A total of 269 adult African patients with AMN were examined. The findings were recorded photographically, and descriptive statistics were used to organise the data. The Chi-squared test was used to test for associations. Results: A total of 269 patients were enrolled. The age ranged between 18 and 87 years and the mean was 37.1 years. Females were 67%, and males 33%. Majority (99.26%) AMN were macules, more commonly observed on the right palm (54.6%). Commonest colours were brown (84.4%) and black (14.9%). Dermoscopically, the commonest patterns were: parallel furrow pattern (59.9%), globular pattern (10.0%), fibrillar pattern (9.7%) and homogeneous pattern (8.6%). The fibrillar pattern was found to be higher in females (p=0.016), than in males. Conclusion: The parallel furrow pattern was most prevalent, followed by the globular and homogeneous patterns in the study. A rare arciform clinical morphology was reported in two AMN (0.74%).