[Developmental aspects of nevus spilus: review of the literature apropos of 7 cases].

The nevus on nevus is a dischromic lesion with a double component made of a pigmented, pale-brown coloured spot, most often congenital punctuated by macular or discretely papular darker elements, with a usually later setting-up and conventionally characterized by an absence of evolutivity. A series of seven cases is reported of whom three present a very peculiar evolution: A 37 years old man is taking a medical advice for a nevus on a congenital nevus on the right buttock on which appeared later on a blue-coloured, lightly sensitive nodule which clinically calls to mind the diagnosis of a blue nevus: the surgical exeresis is refused by the patient. A little girl, born in 1972, has since her birth a nevus on nevus of her right fore-arm; in 1975 and 1976 appeared successively on this lesion three nodules evocative of Spitz melanoma (fig. 4), which are surgically removed; histologic examination confirms the clinical diagnosis (fig. 5). A woman, aged 38, presents a big nevus on congenital zosteriform nevus of the right lower limb; since 1982, one of the dark elements situated on the lower third of the leg is progressively spreading and becoming polychromic (fig. 6); the clinical suspicious of superficial spreading malignant melanoma is confirmed by the histologic examination. In the literature, the terminology aiming to call this kind of nevic pale brown spot recovered by darker macules is not quite clear, as it was already emphasized by Stewart in 1978 (27). Indeed, numerous different denomination are found in it: "nevus spilus", nevus on nevus", "spotty nevus" "speckled lentiginous nevus", "speckled nevus "spilus".(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)