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Updated: May 23, 2026
Combining Reflectance Confocal Microscopy with Optical Coherence Tomography for Noninvasive Diagnosis of Skin Cancers via Image Acquisition
Published on: August 18, 2022
Dermoscopy of Merkel cell carcinoma
Stéphane Dalle1, Laurent Parmentier, Elvira Moscarella
1Department of Dermatology, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, Pierre-Bénite, France. stephane.dalle@chu-lyon.fr
Introduction:
Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive cutaneous tumor whose clinical presentation, usually a pink nodule, is not specific. We aimed in this study to determine the dermoscopic criteria encountered in MCC.
Methods:
From our image database we selected the patients diagnosed with MCC and scored the dermoscopic criteria shown by these tumors.
Results:
Ten patients coming from three different academic hospitals were studied. Vascular structures were the more relevant dermoscopic features. In 8 out of 10 (80%) patients a polymorphic vascular pattern was seen, composed of milky-red clods/areas in association with one or more additional vascular structures.
Conclusion:
Although an overlap existed between the dermoscopic features observed in MCC and amelanotic melanoma, the presence of a polymorphous vascular pattern may constitute an additional clinical clue to accurately diagnose this rare tumor.
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