Clinicopathological features and associations in a series of South African acral melanomas

Acral melanoma (AM) arises on the palms, soles and nail apparatus (subungual), and remains a major health problem with poor prognosis and advanced pathology at the time of diagnosis (Durbec et al., 2012). AM is distinct from melanoma arising on the sun-exposed dorsal skin of the hands and feet (Haugh et al., 2018). Most melanoma research has focused on melanomas on sun-exposed sites. Further, little is known about the clinical and pathological features of AM in the African context. The primary objective of this study was to describe the clinical and histopathological features of a series of South African AMs.