Langley, Fitzpatrick, and Sober

 

"Histopathologic Criteria for the Diagnosis of Melanoma

 
Intraepidermal or microinvasive melanoma
 
Architecture
 
Size (usually >4 to 5 mm)
Asymmetry of general architecture
Poorly defined margins
Loss of nevus architecture
Variation in size, shape, placement of nests
Confluence and fusion of nests
Dyshesion (dyscohesion) of cells in nests
Upward migration of cells (pagetoid spread)
Lack of maturation
 
Cytology
 
Uniformly atypical (continuous as opposed to variable) population of cells exhibiting cellular enlargement, nuclear enlargement, nuclear pleomorphism, nuclear hyperchromatism, prominent nucleoli"
 
Langley RGB, Fitzpatrick TB, Sober AJ. Histopathology and Precursor lesions. In: Cutaneous melanoma. 3rd Edition. Missouri: Quality Medical Publishing, 1998:121.
 

Brief Critique

 
Many of the criteria seem to have been adapted from Ackerman, and those criteria enable differentiation, in most instances, of melanoma from melanocytic nevi of various kinds. Some criteria used by Ackerman are not included here and in their stead are baffling notions, such as "uniformly atypical"cells.