Table 2.
Chronological summary of studies in the literature assessing the inflammatory infiltrate in spitzoid melanocytic neoplasms
| Frequency of infiltrate (%) and number of Specimens | IHC | Context of the study and comments | Type of spitzoid melanocytic lesion (SN, AST, MST) | Year | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69% (146/211 cases) | NA | No reported meaningful pattern of distribution of inflammatory infiltrate | 211 SN; 0 AST or MST | 1977 | 2 |
| 100% (17/17 cases) 1 |
CD8 TIA‐1 CD1a CD68 Ki‐67 |
Investigation of Spitz naevi with halo reaction. In combined tumours (9/17 cases) the symmetrical lymphocytic infiltrate was directed exclusively against the Spitz naevus component |
17 SN 1 ; 0 AST or MST |
1997 | 50 |
| 73% (181/247 cases) | NA | Inflammation was conspicuous in 17 cases (6.9%) with lichenoid distribution, and disruption of melanocytic nests | 247 SN; 0 AST or MST | 2005 | 5 |
| 70% (243/349 cases) | NA | Grading of inflammatory intensity in light (161/349), moderate (64/349) and heavy (18/349) infiltration and assessment of distribution of inflammatory infiltrate with perivascular (207/349), diffuse (19/349) and band‐like (17/349) pattern | 349 SN; 0 AST or MST | 2009 | 1 |
| 23% (30/130 cases) | NA | Investigators concede that the low frequency of inflammation may reflect demographic differences in the studied population | 130 SN; 0 AST or MST | 2010 | 35 |
| 61% (42/69 cases) | NA 2 | Assessment of histomorphological diagnostic criteria of AST (n = 75) and their interobserver variability. For six cases data are unknown. Categorisation into patterns (1–3) indicating no, focal or dense lymphohistiocytic inflammation. Results of the categorisation are not presented in detail in the study. However, the presence of lymphoid aggregates was not distinctive for clinical behaviour of AST, as it was present in 61% (36/59) of non‐recurrent cases and in 60% (6/10) of recurrent cases | 0 SN; 75 AST, 0 MST | 2014 | 2 |
| 75% (24/32 cases) | NA | The inflammatory infiltrate was distributed in the central part of the base of the lesion in six lesions (19%), in the periphery of the lesion in five lesions (15.5%) and diffuse in 13 lesions (40.5%) | 32 SN; 0 AST or MST | 2015 | 34 |
AST, Atypical Spitz tumour; IHC, Immunohistochemistry; HN, Halo naevus; MST, Malignant Spitz tumour; NA, Not available; SN, Spitz naevus.
1
Harvell et al. investigated the subgroup of 17 HN of a cohort of 1286 spitzoid melanocytic neoplasms. 50
2
Gerami et al. performed fluorescence in‐situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis targeting the original melanoma probe set Chr. 6p25, 6q23, 11q13 and Cep6 and the newer modified probe set targeting Chr. 6p25, 9p21, 11q13 and 8q24 on all 75 AST investigated in this study. 26