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Observation
April 2017

Microbiopsy Biomarker Profiling in a Superficial Melanoma Resembling a Pigmented Basal Cell Carcinoma

Author Affiliations
  • 1Dermatology Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Diamantina Institute, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  • 2IQ Pathology, West End, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
  • 3Department of Dermatology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
JAMA Dermatol. 2017;153(4):334-336. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.5537

The skin microbiopsy device is a minimally invasive and painless technique used as an alternative to conventional biopsy techniques for collecting cells from the epidermis to the papillary dermis for molecular diagnosis and research.1 We used microbiopsy samples and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis to differentiate between a histopathologically proven superficial pigmented basal cell carcinoma (BCC) (Figure 1A and B) and a superficial melanoma resembling a pigmented BCC (index lesion from the case patient) (Figure 1C and D).

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