Identifying the clinical and histopathological characteristics of amelanotic melanoma: a case series.

Amelanotic melanoma (AM) is a subtype of melanoma where the lesion demonstrates no pigmentation. This can lead to delays in referral with studies showing a higher mortality rate. To determine the characteristics of AM lesions, we conducted a retrospective analysis of patients with confirmed AM. Of the 16 patients, 68.75% were male and the mean age at diagnosis was 78 years. The most common location for AM was the head (37.5%) which also demonstrated a higher mitotic rate (10.67 mm) compared to the average (7.31 mm). More than half of the lesions (56%) had been present for more than 1 year. With a misdiagnosis rate of 87.5%, the likelihood of delays were evident. There was no unifying feature on clinical assessment, however conspicuous vessel findings were noted on 62.5% of lesions. We have demonstrated that AM continues to remain a missed diagnosis with the potential for a more lethal cancer to form.