lentigo maligna
Last reviewed 11/2022
Hutchinson lentigo or lentigo maligna describes a large area of dark pigmentation found on the face and neck of older patients. It is a well-defined, though irregular macular lesion with a brown or mottled black colour.
It is important because it is premalignant. Not only are the lesions so deeply pigmented that signs of malignant change are difficult to detect, but furthermore proliferating melanocytes are vacuolated and dysplastic. It is therefore perhaps not surprising that these lesions may becoming rapidly invasive - lentigo maligna melanoma.
Treatment options
- cryotherapy or excision may be advised for both lentigo and lentigo maligna, in the case of the latter, to pre-empt the development of a malignant melanoma.