Karyometry of malignant melanoma cells present in skin strippings

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Skin strippings harvest the malignant melanoma cells eliminated through the stratum corneum. In this study, morphometry was applied to such non-invasive samplings in order to derive objective information about nuclear atypia. METHOD: Cyanoacrylate skin surface strippings were collected from 140 malignant melanomas. Karyometry was performed to quantify the size and shape of malignant cell nuclei. RESULTS: Anisokaryosis was prominent although the outline of nuclei were rather smooth. CONCLUSION: Image analysis of skin strippings harvested from malignant melanomas shows that anisokaryosis is the major cytologic feature of malignant melanoma cells in transit in the stratum corneum.