Imaging technique for the diagnosis of onychomatricoma

Onychomatricoma is a rare tumour that derives from the nail matrix and grows within the nail plate. The clinical presentation can mimic many other tumors and conditions and surgical biopsy and histopathological examination are necessary to confirm the diagnosis. Since nail surgery is a painful experience for the patient and sometimes can leave permanent onychodistrophy, more precise preoperative diagnosis is needed to distinguish onychomatricoma from other nail diseases more accurately and to limit surgical interventions.

The objective of this study was to evaluate current literature on imaging techniques for the diagnosis of onychomatricoma in order to understand how this technology can help the pre-surgical diagnosis of this tumour. We searched in the Cochrane Skin Group Specialised library, Medline, Embase and Lilacs database all studies evaluating imaging technique for the diagnosis of onychomatricoma up to February 2018. We found that not only nail dermoscopy, but also reflectance confocal microscopy, optical coherence tomography, ultrasonography and magnetic resonance can be useful in this field.

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Cinotti E, Veronesi G, Labeille B, Cambazard F, Piraccini BM, Dika E, Perrot JL, Rubegni P.

J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2018 Jun 5. doi: 10.1111/jdv.15108. [Epub ahead of print] Review.