{"id":14542,"date":"2020-11-21T12:11:19","date_gmt":"2020-11-21T12:11:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/"},"modified":"2026-03-15T11:33:37","modified_gmt":"2026-03-15T11:33:37","slug":"subungual-melanoma-pathology","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/","title":{"rendered":"Pathology of Subungual Melanoma"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"textBlock\">\n<div class=\"cmsBlock\">\n<div class=\"cmsBlock__shortcode\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"cmsBlock__title\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1>Subungual Melanoma: Clinical and Histopathological Features<\/h1>\n<p>The <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"622\">Subungual melanoma<\/span> represents a <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"30\">cancer<\/span> that originates from a <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"893\">malignant proliferation<\/span> of <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"181\">melanocytes<\/span> located in the nail matrix <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"2154\">nail<\/span>. Clinically, it typically manifests as a pigmented band <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1520\">pigmented skin<\/span> over the nail plate. This band shows a tendency to slowly expand toward the proximal edge <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"242\">in Sneddon syndrome, affecting the trunk and back; the extremities are rarely involved.<\/span> and frequently may involve the adjacent <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1351\">nail fold<\/span> (Hutchinson's sign; Figure 1).<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"mceGallery mceNonEditable\" data-ids=\"35471:Figure 1\" data-copyright-ids=\"undefined\">Subungual melanoma<\/div><figcaption>Figure 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>Histology of Subungual Melanoma<\/h2>\n<p>Histopathologically, the nail plate affected by subungual melanoma exhibits extensive <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1769\">assessed<\/span> of <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"180\">melanin<\/span> <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"370\">non-scarring alopecia (present in 50% of cases).<\/span> (Figure 2). Upon examining sections of the matrix and nail bed, a <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"164\">melanocytic lesion<\/span> characterized by poor demarcation, predominance of single-cell growth, and pagetoid-type scatter <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1212\">of the epidermis<\/span> (Figures 3 and 4). It is common to identify nest formation and confluence of cell junctions. Most cases present a combination of epithelioid and dendritic <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1667\">epithelioid<\/span> and dendritic morphology (Figure 5). Although often subtle, nuclear <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1305\">atypia<\/span> and prominent nucleoli are usually evident features.<\/p>\n<section class=\"textBlock imageLinkBlockTitle\">\n<h3 class=\"colour--primary\">Images of Subungual Melanoma<\/h3>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"imageLinkBlock\">\n<div class=\"flex\">\n<div class=\"imageLinkBlock__item__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/subungual-melanoma-figure-2__ProtectWyJQcm90ZWN0Il0_FocusFillWzI5NCwyMjIsInkiLDExXQ.jpg\" alt=\"Figure 2: Manifestation of subungual melanoma showing melanin accumulation.\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-small\">Figure 2<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"imageLinkBlock__item__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/subungual-melanoma-figure-3__ProtectWyJQcm90ZWN0Il0_FocusFillWzI5NCwyMjIsInkiLDFd.jpg\" alt=\"Figure 3: Histology showing pagetoid scatter of melanocytic cells.\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-small\">Figure 4<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"imageLinkBlock__item__image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/subungual-melanoma-figure-4__ProtectWyJQcm90ZWN0Il0_FocusFillWzI5NCwyMjIsInkiLDQ4XQ.jpg\" alt=\"Figure 4: Histological section illustrating features of subungual melanoma.\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-small\">Figure 5<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"clearfix imageLinkBlock\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"square-placement-country-holder\" class=\"country-dependent advert\"><!-- Placeholder for advertisement --><\/div>\n<h2>Specialized Studies for Subungual Melanoma<\/h2>\n<p>The use of immunohistochemical stains <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1421\">immunohistochemistry<\/span> such as Melan-A and SOX10 is useful for delineating the extent and pattern of the <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"164\">melanocytic lesion<\/span>, melanocytic lesion <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"895\">infantile<\/span> (e.g., Ki-67) are used to quantify an elevated proliferative index.<\/p>\n<p>Fluorescence in situ hybridization (<span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1077\">FISH<\/span>) can be applied to distinguish melanoma from <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"22\">benign melanocytic lesions<\/span> (<span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"2115\">lesions<\/span>).<\/p>\n<h2>Differential Diagnosis of Subungual Melanoma<\/h2>\n<p>It is essential to consider the following alternative diagnoses:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Atypical lentiginous melanocytic proliferation <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1395\">atypical<\/span>: This term has been suggested for borderline cases that do not fully meet all diagnostic criteria for melanoma, especially in <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"919\">pediatric<\/span>. patients. Generally, for these borderline cases, conservative management is advised, treating them as melanoma (FISH testing can be useful to show an <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1993\">aneuploid<\/span> clone, which suggests malignancy).<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"354\">Nevi<\/span> matrix nevi and lentigines <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1394\">solar<\/span>: These are distinguished because they lack the <span class=\"term\" data-term-id=\"1419\">histopathological<\/span> atypical histopathological features observed in melanoma.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Correct histopathological characterization and complementary studies are crucial to establish a timely treatment plan for subungual melanoma, ensuring the best possible prognosis for the patient.<\/p>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Melanoma Subungueal: Caracter\u00edsticas Cl\u00ednicas e Histopatol\u00f3gicas El melanoma subungueal representa un c\u00e1ncer que se origina a partir de una proliferaci\u00f3n maligna de melanocitos localizada en la matriz de la u\u00f1a. Cl\u00ednicamente, t\u00edpicamente se manifiesta como una banda pigmentada sobre la l\u00e1mina ungueal. Esta banda muestra una tendencia a expandirse lentamente hacia el borde proximal y, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":409,"parent":0,"template":"","glossary-cat":[],"class_list":["post-14542","glossary","type-glossary","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.2 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Patolog\u00eda del melanoma subungueal - Dermatly.com - El sitio de tu piel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/subungual-melanoma-pathology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Patolog\u00eda del melanoma subungueal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Melanoma Subungueal: Caracter\u00edsticas Cl\u00ednicas e Histopatol\u00f3gicas El melanoma subungueal representa un c\u00e1ncer que se origina a partir de una proliferaci\u00f3n maligna de melanocitos localizada en la matriz de la u\u00f1a. Cl\u00ednicamente, t\u00edpicamente se manifiesta como una banda pigmentada sobre la l\u00e1mina ungueal. Esta banda muestra una tendencia a expandirse lentamente hacia el borde proximal y, [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/subungual-melanoma-pathology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dermatly.com - El sitio de tu piel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-15T11:33:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/\",\"name\":\"Patolog\u00eda del melanoma subungueal - Dermatly.com - El sitio de tu piel\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-21T12:11:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-15T11:33:37+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg\",\"width\":100,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"miiskin-3-2-133__scalewidthwzewmf0-4516532-8990298-jpg-2113061\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Glossary\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/glossary\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Patolog\u00eda del melanoma subungueal\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/\",\"name\":\"Dermatly.com - El sitio de tu piel\",\"description\":\"Dermatolog\u00eda y lesiones de la piel\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"dermatly.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/dermatly-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/dermatly-logo.png\",\"width\":448,\"height\":110,\"caption\":\"dermatly.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Subungual Melanoma Pathology - Dermatly.com - Your Skin Site","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/subungual-melanoma-pathology\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Patolog\u00eda del melanoma subungueal","og_description":"Melanoma Subungueal: Caracter\u00edsticas Cl\u00ednicas e Histopatol\u00f3gicas El melanoma subungueal representa un c\u00e1ncer que se origina a partir de una proliferaci\u00f3n maligna de melanocitos localizada en la matriz de la u\u00f1a. Cl\u00ednicamente, t\u00edpicamente se manifiesta como una banda pigmentada sobre la l\u00e1mina ungueal. Esta banda muestra una tendencia a expandirse lentamente hacia el borde proximal y, [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/subungual-melanoma-pathology\/","og_site_name":"Dermatly.com - El sitio de tu piel","article_modified_time":"2026-03-15T11:33:37+00:00","og_image":[{"width":100,"height":100,"url":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/","url":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/","name":"Subungual Melanoma Pathology - Dermatly.com - Your Skin Site","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg","datePublished":"2020-11-21T12:11:19+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-15T11:33:37+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/miiskin-3-2-133__ScaleWidthWzEwMF0-4516532.jpg","width":100,"height":100,"caption":"miiskin-3-2-133__scalewidthwzewmf0-4516532-8990298-jpg-2113061"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/patologia-del-melanoma-subungueal\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Glossary","item":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/glossary\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Patolog\u00eda del melanoma subungueal"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/","name":"Dermatly.com - Your Skin Site","description":"Dermatology and Skin Lesions","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#organization","name":"dermatly.com","url":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/dermatly-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/dermatly-logo.png","width":448,"height":110,"caption":"dermatly.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/14542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/14542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26842,"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary\/14542\/revisions\/26842"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"glossary-cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dermatly.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/glossary-cat?post=14542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}