Differential diagnosis of melanoma

The differential diagnosis of melanoma refers to the set of conditions that may have similar signs and symptoms to melanoma, and therefore must be considered when trying to establish a definitive diagnosis.

Here are some of the main conditions that may require a differential diagnosis in the case of melanoma:

Illness Clinical Aspects
Pigmented seborrheic keratosis It is a melanoma imitator, differential diagnosis is not easy, dermoscopy helps.
Traumatized nevus The nevus returns to its normal appearance after about 10 days
Pigmented basal cell carcinoma Presence of surface telangiectasia and specific dermoscopic aspects
Lentigo Prevails in sun-exposed areas, it is symmetrical
Blue nevus A blue-colored nevus due to the deep localization of melanocytes, it does not change over time, its degeneration into melanoma is rare
Angiokeratoma Distinguishing it from melanoma is not easy, they are vascular tumors. Dermoscopy is decisive for a correct diagnosis
Traumatic hematoma It can mimic melanoma, but it has an immediate onset and disappears in 10 days
Venous lake It is found on the lips and sometimes in the earlobes, it partially disappears with finger pressure
Hemangioma It does not change over time and often disappears with finger pressure
Dermatofibroma It often appears after a folliculitis, it does not change over time and has distinctive characteristics on dermoscopy
Pigmented actinic keratosis Affects the exposed regions and does not present the typical dermoscopy of melanoma