Summary

Melanoma is among the most aggressive skin cancers, making early detection essential for optimizing patient prognosis. In current clinical practice, clinical exami-nation, dermoscopy, and histopathology represent the standard methods for assessing melanocytic lesions; however, modern molecular techniques, such as fluo-rescence in situ hybridization (FISH), can provide ad-ditional information in cases with ambiguous features.

This research focused on four main directions: analyzing clinical and dermoscopic similarities between atypical nevi and early-stage melanoma, examining the role of the tumor microenvironment in melanoma, assessing the diagnostic utility of FISH, and synthesizing the current knowledge on nevogenesis and melanomagenesis. By integrating clinical, histopathological, and molecular data, the study highlighted both the phenotypic overlap between benign and malignant lesions and the molecular features that can aid diagnosis in challenging cases.

FISH techniques can complement histopathological evaluation in lesions with ambiguous architecture by highlighting relevant genetic alterations. The analysis of the tumor microenvironment confirms its involvement in melanocytic progression, while the synthesis of current literature enhances the understanding of mechanisms involved in melanoma development.

This article summarizes the main results of the doctoral thesis entitled “Phenotypic and Molecular Aspects in Atypical Nevi and Melanoma,” which aimed to provide an integrated analysis of melanocytic lesions through clinical, dermoscopic, histopathological, and molecular assessment. Overall, the study underscores the importance of a multidimensional approach in the diagnosis and management of melanocytic lesions and highlights the value of modern molecular techniques in clarifying diagnostically difficult cases.