The early detection of melanoma is crucial for improving survival rates. Dermoscopy improves the accuracy of clinical examination, enabling a diagnosis in the early stages. However it has limitations in the diagnosis of incipient melanomas. Full body mapping and digital dermoscopy help diagnose nonspecific lesions and allow the detection of new suspicious lesions. Patients at high risk of developing melanomas benefit the most from this approach. The authors report the case of a high-risk patient whose melanoma diagnosis was only possible with the help of dermoscopy-guided histopathological analysis.

Keywords: MELANOMA, DERMOSCOPY, EARLY DIAGNOSIS, RISK FACTORS, PATHOLOGY

The prognosis of cutaneous melanomas depends mainly on the lesions' thickness; early detection is of paramount importance for patient longer survival rates. An accuracy of approximately 90% can be achieved using dermoscopic assessment. Since early melanomas might not present specific dermoscopic features, they can only be diagnosed by observing alterations over time through total body mapping and serial digital dermoscopy. Patients with atypical nevus syndrome and multiple familial melanoma presented a higher sensitivity for the detection of melanoma using that technique.

Keywords: MELANOMA; DERMOSCOPY; DYSPLASTIC NEVUS SYNDROME.

The globular dermoscopic pattern in pigmented lesions of basal cell carcinoma can cause diagnostic confusion, especially in cases in which other more commonly observed structures are absent. Therefore, the use of refletance confocal microscopy becomes important to determine the diagnosis and eliminate the need for biopsies.

Keywords: Carcinoma, Basal Cell; Dermoscopy; Microscopy, Confocal.