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Elastic staining does not assist detection of venous invasion in cutaneous melanoma

The aim of the present study was to determine the benefit of orcein elastic staining of primary cutaneous melanoma specimens in detecting venous invasion. Primary cutaneous melanomas in vertical growth phase were assessed for vascular invasion. All tumour blocks were stained with haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and orcein. The cases were reviewed by two pathologists. Vascular invasion was not identified more frequently on orcein stained slides than on H&E stained ones. Elastosis and periappendiceal elastic fibres interfered with vascular invasion detection with elastic staining. Based on our study, we conclude that elastic stains such as orcein do not improve the detection rate of venous invasion in primary cutaneous melanomas.