Correlation between nevus association and reduced risks of recurrence and mortality in acral melanoma: A multicenter, retrospective analysis of 482 patients

Nevus-associated melanoma (NAM) refers to melanoma that either contains residual nevus components, as observed in histopathological examination, or originates from a pre-existing nevus. NAM has been extensively studied to better understand melanoma biology. It accounts for approximately 30% of cutaneous melanoma (CM) cases and is more prevalent among younger individuals with thinner Breslow thickness. NAM patients show significantly improved overall survival (OS) compared to those with de novo melanoma (DNM) . Acral melanoma (AM), a unique subtype of melanoma occurring on the palms, soles, and nails, is rare in Caucasians (1–7%) but more common in non-White individuals, representing up to 50–58% of all melanomas in Asians and even 60–70% in Blacks . Despite this, there is a lack of large-scale global analyses of AM, and the impact of nevus association on AM remains unclear.
This study aimed to compare nevus-associated acral melanoma (NAAM) with de novo acral melanoma (DNAM) to explore differences in demographic characteristics, clinicopathological features, recurrence, and survival between these two groups.