The desmoplastic melanocytic naevus: a distinct histological entity

Fifteen cases of desmoplastic melanocytic naevi are described in 12 female and three male patients, ranging in age from 8 to 83 years. The commonest site for the lesions was the upper limb. The lesions were characterized by a dense sclerotic or desmoplastic appearance of the dermal collagen surrounding a population of predominantly epithelioid naevus cells, some of which had a bizarre but non-malignant cytology. The cause of the stromal change is not established. We suggest that these lesions constitute a discrete entity which should be described in standard textbooks of dermatopathology.