Spitz naevus is rare in Korea

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Spitz naevi have not been widely studied in Asians.

AIM: To compare the epidemiology and clinicopathological features of Spitz naevi in Koreans with lesions in western countries.

METHODS: In total, 80 Spitz naevi in 77 patients diagnosed over 10 years at 17 university hospitals in Korea were analysed.

RESULTS: The relative incidence of Spitz naevus vs. MM was 1 vs. 10.9. In most patients (75%) the Spitz naevi had been present for > 6 months. The size of the lesion was relatively large. Histologically, most of the lesions (54%) were the dermal type and pigmentation was common (49% of lesions). Immunohistochemical study found that all of the 34 lesions were positive for S-100 protein but only 14 (47%) were positive for HMB-45.

CONCLUSION: Spitz naevus is rare in Korea. The lesions were more commonly larger, pigmented, and of the dermal type than reported in western countries.