Pediatric Melanoma

Melanoma is less common in children than adults and more varied in presentation. Additional ABCD criteria have been developed to augment the conventional ABCDE mnemonic for melanoma and better screen for atypical lesions in children. Additionally, Spitz nevi and congenital melanocytic nevi are two lesions of special interest due to their differing behaviors within children. While the risk factors of melanoma are generally similar to that of adults, differences in risk suggest underlying variation in disease biology. Prognosis for children is observed to be similar, if not better, than that of adults that has implications on the treatment decisions.