A zoom on dermoscopic polymorphous vascular pattern observed in common benign cutaneous tumors (Seborrheic keratosis, dermal/congenital nevi, dermatofibroma, viral wart): A multicentric, observational study

Objective: The vascular patterns observed in dermoscopic examination are considered to be important diagnostic clues and many skin lesions show a characteristic vasculature. Polymorphous vascular pattern (PVP) is usually thought to indicate malignant cutaneous tumors. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of dermoscopic PVP in common benign cutaneous tumors. Methods: Histopathologically confirmed common benign cutaneous tumors collected from two different centers were included in the study. Dermoscopic images of all lesions were examined retrospectively and the lesions showing polymorphous vascular patterns were determined. Results: A total of 350 histopathologically confirmed benign cutaneous tumors were evaluated regarding the presence of PVP. Nine percent of dermal/congenital nevi (n=9), 13% (n=13) of seborrheic keratoses and 5% of viral warts (n=5) showed PVP. None of the dermatofibromas exhibited PVP. Conclusion: Our study showed that PVP is not a very rare dermoscopic vascular pattern in benign skin tumors. We think that dermoscopic PVP alone should not be accepted as a sign of malignancy and should be evaluated in the context of the other present structural dermoscopic findings.