Hali Fouzia¹, Kerouach Amal^1,, Belanouane Sarah¹, Chiheb Soumiya¹, El Hadigui Sofia², Diouri Mounia²

Vitiligo is an acquired achromia linked to an autoimmune destruction of melanocytes. One of its mysterious aspects is its occurrence with melanoma known as melanoma-associated leukoderma (MAL). The Objective of the study is to shed the light on the clinical aspects of MAL for a better understanding while providing a comprehensive review of the literature. We retrospectively analysed the clinical characteristics of 12 patients having MAL, from 2016-2021. We compared our findings to those reported in the literature. Our series illustrates different situations where vitiligo is linked to melanoma. None of our patients had a positive family history of vitiligo. The median age was 68 years with extremes of 90 and 36 years, 10 patients had their MAL located on photo-exposed areas. Clinically MAL presented as diffuse, macular achromic patches located primarly at sites distant from the primary melanoma and notably on the trunk, legs and face with a late age of onset. No histological particularities as opposed to vitiligo were found. Given the clinical similarities of these achromias with conventional vitiligo, a more thorough clinical examination for melanoma in patients with vitiligo seems to be crucial. Special attention is needed for older patients presenting with late onset, very progressive vitiligo-like lesions refractory to standard treatment.

leukoderma, melanoma, vitiligo, hypopigmentation