Abstract We
report a case of amelanotic acral
melanoma in a 42-year-old
Chinese woman. Ten months previously the
patient found a 2-cm asymmetric erythematous macular plaque on her left sole. The lesion was diagnosed as
verruca plantaris by every
physician the
patient consulted. One month ago, an enlarged
lymph node was detected in the left
groin, which
biopsy reported as metastatic
melanoma.
Dermoscopy suggested
verruca plantaris, and
positron emission tomography (
PET) revealed increased
glucose metabolism in the macular plaque. Finally,
biopsy of the plaque revealed
amelanotic melanoma.
Misdiagnosis and diagnostic delay are usually associated with poorer
patient outcomes.
Awareness of atypical presentations of acral
melanoma is thus important for decreasing
misdiagnosis rates and improving
patient outcomes.