Predominant dermoscopic patterns observed among nevi

BACKGROUND: It has been clinically observed that patients' "normal" moles resemble each other. Whether this concept is applicable to dermoscopic practice has not been sufficiently studied. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether physicians evaluating dermoscopic images would identify common dermoscopic profiles of nevi within individual patients. METHODS: Images of 205 nevi belonging to 18 patients were evaluated by 2 dermatologists for dermoscopic global pattern, color, and specific structures. We defined dermoscopic patterns as dominant if seen in >or= 40% of the patient's nevi; a minor pattern was defined as 20 to 39%. RESULTS: A dominant pattern was seen in 15 patients (83%). In 13 (72%) of the patients, >or= 80% of the nevi were classified into one, two, or three global patterns. The reticular global pattern was the most prevalent dominant pattern, seen in 9 patients (50%); the homogeneous pattern was the most prevalent minor pattern, seen in 16 patients (89%). CONCLUSION: Individuals tend to have one to three predominant dermoscopic nevus global patterns.