'Clefting' Linked to Malignancy in Melanocytic Lesions

WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Cellular discohesion forming clefts, 'clefting', is associated with malignancy in melanocytic lesions, according to a study published online June 11 in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology.Javiera Pérez-Anker, M.D., Ph.D., from the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona in Spain, and colleagues examined clefting in melanocytic lesions and the correlation with histopathology and reflectance confocal microscopy. Consecutive benign, atypical, and malignant melanocytic lesions were scanned with line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) at three hospitals. Two hundred lesions with univocal or unambiguous diagnosis (clinically or histologically) were selected.The researchers identified clefting in 36 lesions: 28 of 70 melanomas and eight of 130 benign lesions (40 and 6 percent, respectively). The odds ratio was 10.03 for malignancy associated with the presence of clefting in a melanocytic lesion. Significant differences were seen in the magnitude of clefting: marked clefting was present in 17 melanomas and two benign lesions (24 and 2 percent), with an odds ratio of 20.22. There were no differences seen in terms of the presence of clefting in different locations. Clefting was strongly associated with other malignant features, including epidermal consumption, nests in the epidermis, and disruption of the dermo-epidermal junction"Clefting is not an artefact created by sample preparation in melanocytic lesions, but a specific feature related to malignancy," the authors write. "The use of LC-OCT offers a promising approach for identifying and evaluating clefting, providing valuable information for the diagnosis, invasiveness, and prognosis of melanocytic lesions."One author disclosed ties to DAMAE Medical.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

'Clefting' Linked to Malignancy in Melanocytic Lesions

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