Oral junctional melanocytic nevi : pediatric case report.

Abstract

Oral melanocytic nevi (OMN) are rare benign melanocytic proliferations. Clinically, OMNs are small, well-circumscribed lesions, but usually appear as slightly raised papules. They may be brown, bluish-gray or almost black in color and sometimes non-pigmented. Regarding their etiology and pathogenesis, most studies have focused on cutaneous lesions. We present a case of OMN in a pediatric patient. A 4-year-old male patient was referred presenting a dark macule with regular borders, 6 mm in diameter, located on the right retromolar pad, with an evolution time of 15 days. The clinical diagnoses were melanotic macule and OMN. After excisional biopsy, microscopic examination revealed junctional melanocytic nevi with lentiginous hyperplasia containing focal melanocytic atypia. Clinical follow-up of 4 months was performed, without recurrence or alterations.  Thus, junctional lentiginous melanocytic proliferation with focal atypia can be seen in OMN and should be interpreted with caution, especially in pediatric patients.