Confocal scanning laser microscopy of benign and malignant melanocytic skin lesions in vivo - 02/09/11
Abstract |
Background: The ability of physicians for early diagnosis of cutaneous melanomas is less than perfect, prompting research into noninvasive methods for diagnosis. Objective: Our purpose was to evaluate confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) for noninvasive imaging of benign and malignant melanocytic lesions in vivo. Methods: Forty pigmented skin lesions (including adjacent normal skin as control) in vivo were imaged with near-infrared CSLM. The confocal images were correlated to histopathology. Results: Nuclear, cellular, and architectural detail in the epidermis and superficial dermis is imaged with high resolution and contrast. Melanin causes the cytoplasm of pigmented cells to appear bright. Melanocytic nevi had cohesive nests of uniformly circular cells and increased microvascular blood flow. Melanomas had a polymorphous cytologic structure, containing atypical, pleomorphic cells in disarray and irregular dendritic cells. Conclusion: CSLM is capable of identifying distinct patterns and cytologic features of benign and malignant pigmented skin lesions in vivo. CSLM may be useful to noninvasively discriminate benign and malignant lesions in vivo. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2001;45:365-76.)
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Supported by the Lalia B. Chase Fellowship of the Dalhousie Medical Research Foundation. Development of the confocal microscope prototype was funded in parts by Department of Energy grant DE-FG02-91ER61229 and by a grant from the Whitaker Foundation (to M. R.). |
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Conflict of interest: Milind Rajadhyaksha (M. R.) and Peter Dwyer are presently employed by and own stock in Lucid Inc (Rochester, NY). The early confocal microscope prototype that was built by M. R. and is described in this article has been recently commercialized by Lucid. However, there is no mention of the commercial version in this article. |
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Reprint requests: Richard G. B. Langley, MD, 4195 Dickson Bldg, QEII Health Sciences Center, Division of Dermatology, Department of Medicine, 1278 Tower Rd, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 1V8. E-mail: richard.langley@dal.ca. |
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Published online July 18, 2001. |
Vol 45 - N° 3
P. 365-376 - septembre 2001 Retour au numéroBienvenue sur EM-consulte, la référence des professionnels de santé.
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