From Med U of Vienna: "The term "dysplastic nevus" is a misnomer and should be abandoned."

Dermatol Clin. 2013 Oct;31(4):579-88, viii. doi: 10.1016/j.det.2013.06.009. Epub 2013 Jul 23.

Dysplastic nevus: why this term should be abandoned in dermatoscopy.

Kittler H, Tschandl P.

Source

Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, Vienna 1090, Austria. Electronic address: harald.kittler@meduniwien.ac.at.

Abstract

The term "dysplastic nevus" is a misnomer and should be abandoned. Dysplastic nevus is not just a name, it is the root of the concept that histomorphology (or any morphologic examination including dermatoscopy) is able to predict the fate of a benign melanocytic proliferation. There is no evidence that this hypothesis is true but there are observations that falsify it. Preferably a specific diagnosis should be made based on dermatoscopic pattern and, if this is not possible, on clinical or dermatoscopic grounds alone the term "nevus, not otherwise specified" should be used.