Melanoma arising in extracutaneous cellular blue naevus: report of two cases with comparison to cutaneous counterparts and uveal melanoma

Aims Blue naevi are benign melanocytic lesions that typically occur in the dermis. Melanoma arising in blue naevus is rare, and shows a molecular profile distinct from conventional forms of cutaneous melanoma and more similar to uveal melanoma and central nervous system (CNS) melanocytomas. In contrast to conventional cutaneous melanoma, these tumour types typically show activating driver mutations in GNAQ or GNA11, a low mutational burden without evidence of a UV signature and a reproducible pattern of chromosomal copy number changes. Blue naevi can also occur at extracutaneous sites. Here we report two cases of melanoma arising in extracutaneous blue naevus and compare their molecular features to cohorts of melanoma arising in cutaneous blue naevus (five patients) and uveal melanoma (six patients). Methods and results We describe the clinical, histomorphological, immunohistochemical and molecular findings in these two cases of melanoma arising in extracutaneous blue naevus. We compare their molecular profiles to melanomas arising in cutaneous blue naevus and uveal melanoma using a targeted next-generation DNA sequencing platform and find striking similarities between all three groups. Conclusions The close relationship between blue naevus-associated melanomas, regardless of their anatomical site, supports and validates the concept of melanoma arising in extracutaneous blue naevus and suggests that the two groups share common pathogenic mechanisms. The similarity of both groups to uveal melanoma in turn supports the close relationship between blue naevus-associated melanoma, uveal melanoma and CNS melanocytoma, and their distinction from conventional UV-associated melanoma. These findings have important implications for prognosis and therapy.

Automated summary

Melanoma arising in extracutaneous blue naevus has molecular similarities to melanoma arising in cutaneous blue naevus and uveal melanoma, supporting the concept of melanoma originating from extracutaneous blue naevus and indicating common pathogenic mechanisms. This finding also highlights the distinction between these melanomas and conventional UV-associated melanoma. These findings have significant implications for prognosis and therapy.