Differences in dermoscopic findings between early and mature clear cell acanthoma

Abstract

Clear cell acanthoma (CCA) is a rare benign epidermal tumor that is difficult to diagnose by visual inspection. Conversely, its diagnosis by dermoscopy is relatively easy owing to the characteristic serpiginous arrangement of coiled vessels, sometimes described as the “string‐of‐pearls” formation. However, in few published reports, the dermoscopic diagnosis of mature CCA has been reported. Here, we report the histopathological and detailed dermoscopic findings of two CCA cases. Between these, one case was of early (~6 months) CCA exhibiting the characteristic vascular string‐of‐pearls formation, whereas the other was of a more mature (~10 years) CCA; although the latter case showed combined thick and thin white intersecting lines with large coiled vessels and/or red clods, it had the string‐of‐pearls formation. Thus, regardless of CCA maturity, the string‐of‐pearls formation was present. We propose that the combination of combined thick and thin white intersecting lines along with the vascular string‐of‐pearls formation reflecting large coiled vessels and/or red clods on dermoscopy is a diagnostic clue to mature CCA.