Increase of melanocytes around malignant melanoma

In split epidermal sheets with clinically normal appearance a quantitative study was carried out on dopa-positive cells in the vicinity of malignant melanomas. These data were then compared with the number of melanocytes found in the skin of the contralateral body side of the same patient. In the epidermis around superficial spreading melanoma and lentigo maligna melanoma, the number of dopa-positive cells was usually significantly higher than in the contralateral body side. On the other hand, no difference was generally found around nodular melanoma.