Histopathological characteristics analysis of giant melanocytic naevi in children

The major diagnostic criterion for the giant congenital melanocytic nevus (GCMN) is a size larger than 20 cm in diameter. However, the histopathological origin, pathogenesis, and GCMN progression are not yet completely clear. Unlike other medium or small superficial lesions, histomorphological evaluation is significant for GCMN pathological classification, malignant transformation assessment, and early detection of prognosis.

This study aimed to investigate the pathological features of GCMN, including its satellite lesions.

Twenty-three giant naevi and seventeen "satellite lesions" were collected from children aged 1 to 10 in Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital from 2018 to 2020. A histological study was conducted to evaluate their histological appearance. All the data observed and recorded data were statistically analyzed.

In 23 cases of GCMN primary nevus, nevus cells were mainly distributed in the dermal region, with melanocyte proliferation and the presence of nevus nests at the dermal-epidermal junction. However, in satellite nevus, a junctional growth pattern was noted. Additionally, other histopathologic features, including epidermal contour, cell morphology, and architecture disorder also showed significant differences between primary nevus and satellite nevus.

We demonstrated that the congenital pattern of the main nevus is more obvious than one of the satellite nevus, suggesting that the satellite nevus and the main nevus may occur slightly later than the main nevus. "Satellite nevus" happens as a result of a separate genetic event.