Melanocytic skin neoplasms in children
Literature data on peculiarities of melanocytic skin neoplasms in children and adolescents have been analyzed in order to evaluate topicality of research into the diagnostic markers complex for skin melanoma in these patients as well as, if the conclusion is in the affirmative, to characterize the would-be complex of such markers. Skin melanoma in children and adolescents is a heterogeneous tumor group which when compared with adult skin melanoma possesses both some features of similarity and a number of essential distinctions. Differential diagnostics between pigment nevus and melanoma remains rather intricate for professionals. These difficulties might be minimized by application of molecular markers. As a possible approach to differential diagnostics between nevi and malignant skin melanoma in children it seems worthwhile to try the following steps: to reveal INK4a/ARF locus lesions and to detect the protein p16<sup>INK4a</sup> by immunohistochemistry; to check for amplifications in 11q13 chromosomal region as well as to carry out immunohistochemical detection of cyclin D1 (protein CCND1) in cellular nuclei; to reveal HLA class I antigens on surfaces of pigment cell neoplasms in immunohistochemical test.