Thus, clinical correlation is important in rendering the diagnosis of halo nevus. The most important lesion to differentiate from halo nevus is melanoma. Some of the distinguishing features are listed below. Halo nevi are benign and no treatment is necessary. The chief diagnostic consideration in patients with halo nevi is melanoma undergoing regression, although the distinction is not usually difficult to make.
Primary melanoma is usually solitary whereas halo nevi are commonly multiple.
Furthermore, children are more commonly affected with halo nevi whereas adults are far more commonly affected by melanoma. Melanomas with surrounding white or hypopigmented zones have usually been present for an extended period of time, and the white areas represent zones of regression. Thus, the halo of a regressing melanoma is irregular in shape and variable in radial width, as opposed to the evenly distributed, circular zone of hypopigmentation in true halo nevi which is distributed around the central nevus. Furthermore, melanomas usually exhibit the characteristic clinical signs of breadth, asymmetry, poor circumscription and color irregularity with black foci that usually allow the diagnosis to be rendered with relative ease. In those cases where potential malignancy is in question, a dermatologist should be consulted.