Acral lentiginous melanoma

What it means

A type of cutaneous melanoma localized to the palm, sole, or beneath the nail (subungual melanoma). Acral lentiginous melanoma starts as a slowly-enlarging flat patch of discolored skin and usually displays a size above 6 mm and often several centimeters or more in diameter upon diagnosis and variable pigmentation with a mixutre of colors including brown, and blue-grey, black and red. The surface of the lesion is initially smooth but later in the course may become thicker and irregular, and may ulcerate or bleed.

Rare diseases that can present with this1

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category