WHO classification of skin tumours: key updates in the fifth edition

Gabrielle Goldman-Lévy; Raymond Barnhill; Boris C. Bastian; Werner Kempf; David Elder; Pedram Gerami; Wayne Grayson; Dmitry Kazakov; Daniela Massi; Jane Messina; Arnaud de la Fouchardière; Alexander J. Lazar; Thomas Brenn; Brian Rous; Andrew Field; Anthony Gill; Jennelle C. Hodge; Joseph D. Khoury; Katia Leite; Shahin Sayed; Puay Hoon Tan; Rosalie Elenitsas; Eduardo Calonje; Lyn M. Duncan; Liang Zhiyong; Holger Moch; Rajendra Singh; Harshima Wijesinghe; Ian Cree; Dilani Lokuhetty

doi:10.1111/his.15562

WHO classification of skin tumours: key updates in the fifth edition

Gabrielle Goldman-Lévy
, Raymond Barnhill
, Boris C. Bastian
, Werner Kempf
, David Elder
, Pedram Gerami
, Wayne Grayson
, Dmitry Kazakov
, Daniela Massi
, Jane Messina
, Arnaud de la Fouchardière
, Alexander J. Lazar
, Thomas Brenn
, Brian Rous
, Andrew Field
, Anthony Gill
, Jennelle C. Hodge
, Joseph D. Khoury
, Katia Leite
, Shahin Sayed

Puay Hoon Tan, Rosalie Elenitsas, Eduardo Calonje, Lyn M. Duncan, Liang Zhiyong, Holger Moch, Rajendra Singh, Harshima Wijesinghe, Ian Cree, Dilani Lokuhetty

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

Abstract

The 5th edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours (WCT) serves as a foundation for global diagnostic standards in tumour pathology. Similar to other volumes in this series, the Skin Tumours (Skin5) edition follows a standardized approach. This edition introduces two new chapters: ‘Tumours of the nail unit’ and ‘Metastases to skin’, along with new entities across relevant chapters. This review article provides an overview of the updates in Skin5 based on currently published evidence, with emphasis on newly introduced chapters and newly described entities that involve the skin, in particular, epidermal, melanocytic and appendageal tumours.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	555-568
Number of pages	14
Journal	Histopathology
Volume	88
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/his.15562
Publication status	Published - Feb 2026
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

appendageal tumors
hematopoetic and lymphoid tumors
keratinocytic tumors
melanocytic tumors
nail unit tumors
skin metastases
soft tissue tumors

Access to Document

10.1111/his.15562

Cite this

Goldman-Lévy, G., Barnhill, R., Bastian, B. C., Kempf, W., Elder, D., Gerami, P., Grayson, W., Kazakov, D., Massi, D., Messina, J., de la Fouchardière, A., Lazar, A. J., Brenn, T., Rous, B., Field, A., Gill, A., Hodge, J. C., Khoury, J. D., Leite, K., ... Lokuhetty, D. (2026). WHO classification of skin tumours: key updates in the fifth edition. Histopathology, 88(3), 555-568. https://doi.org/10.1111/his.15562

@article{a2d1e06f04f3480b96e99ed4107eeefa,

title = "WHO classification of skin tumours: key updates in the fifth edition",

abstract = "The 5th edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours (WCT) serves as a foundation for global diagnostic standards in tumour pathology. Similar to other volumes in this series, the Skin Tumours (Skin5) edition follows a standardized approach. This edition introduces two new chapters: {\textquoteleft}Tumours of the nail unit{\textquoteright} and {\textquoteleft}Metastases to skin{\textquoteright}, along with new entities across relevant chapters. This review article provides an overview of the updates in Skin5 based on currently published evidence, with emphasis on newly introduced chapters and newly described entities that involve the skin, in particular, epidermal, melanocytic and appendageal tumours.",

keywords = "appendageal tumors, hematopoetic and lymphoid tumors, keratinocytic tumors, melanocytic tumors, nail unit tumors, skin metastases, soft tissue tumors",

author = "Gabrielle Goldman-L{\'e}vy and Raymond Barnhill and Bastian, \{Boris C.\} and Werner Kempf and David Elder and Pedram Gerami and Wayne Grayson and Dmitry Kazakov and Daniela Massi and Jane Messina and \{de la Fouchardi{\`e}re\}, Arnaud and Lazar, \{Alexander J.\} and Thomas Brenn and Brian Rous and Andrew Field and Anthony Gill and Hodge, \{Jennelle C.\} and Khoury, \{Joseph D.\} and Katia Leite and Shahin Sayed and Tan, \{Puay Hoon\} and Rosalie Elenitsas and Eduardo Calonje and Duncan, \{Lyn M.\} and Liang Zhiyong and Holger Moch and Rajendra Singh and Harshima Wijesinghe and Ian Cree and Dilani Lokuhetty",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 The Author(s). Histopathology published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd.",

year = "2026",

month = feb,

doi = "10.1111/his.15562",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "88",

pages = "555--568",

journal = "Histopathology",

issn = "0309-0167",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "3",

}

Goldman-Lévy, G, Barnhill, R, Bastian, BC, Kempf, W, Elder, D, Gerami, P, Grayson, W, Kazakov, D, Massi, D, Messina, J, de la Fouchardière, A, Lazar, AJ, Brenn, T, Rous, B, Field, A, Gill, A, Hodge, JC, Khoury, JD, Leite, K, Sayed, S, Tan, PH, Elenitsas, R, Calonje, E, Duncan, LM, Zhiyong, L, Moch, H, Singh, R, Wijesinghe, H, Cree, I & Lokuhetty, D 2026, 'WHO classification of skin tumours: key updates in the fifth edition', Histopathology, vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 555-568. https://doi.org/10.1111/his.15562

TY - JOUR

T1 - WHO classification of skin tumours

T2 - key updates in the fifth edition

AU - Goldman-Lévy, Gabrielle

AU - Barnhill, Raymond

AU - Bastian, Boris C.

AU - Kempf, Werner

AU - Elder, David

AU - Gerami, Pedram

AU - Grayson, Wayne

AU - Kazakov, Dmitry

AU - Massi, Daniela

AU - Messina, Jane

AU - de la Fouchardière, Arnaud

AU - Lazar, Alexander J.

AU - Brenn, Thomas

AU - Rous, Brian

AU - Field, Andrew

AU - Gill, Anthony

AU - Hodge, Jennelle C.

AU - Khoury, Joseph D.

AU - Leite, Katia

AU - Sayed, Shahin

AU - Tan, Puay Hoon

AU - Elenitsas, Rosalie

AU - Calonje, Eduardo

AU - Duncan, Lyn M.

AU - Zhiyong, Liang

AU - Moch, Holger

AU - Singh, Rajendra

AU - Wijesinghe, Harshima

AU - Cree, Ian

AU - Lokuhetty, Dilani

PY - 2026/2

Y1 - 2026/2

N2 - The 5th edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours (WCT) serves as a foundation for global diagnostic standards in tumour pathology. Similar to other volumes in this series, the Skin Tumours (Skin5) edition follows a standardized approach. This edition introduces two new chapters: ‘Tumours of the nail unit’ and ‘Metastases to skin’, along with new entities across relevant chapters. This review article provides an overview of the updates in Skin5 based on currently published evidence, with emphasis on newly introduced chapters and newly described entities that involve the skin, in particular, epidermal, melanocytic and appendageal tumours.

AB - The 5th edition of the World Health Organization Classification of Tumours (WCT) serves as a foundation for global diagnostic standards in tumour pathology. Similar to other volumes in this series, the Skin Tumours (Skin5) edition follows a standardized approach. This edition introduces two new chapters: ‘Tumours of the nail unit’ and ‘Metastases to skin’, along with new entities across relevant chapters. This review article provides an overview of the updates in Skin5 based on currently published evidence, with emphasis on newly introduced chapters and newly described entities that involve the skin, in particular, epidermal, melanocytic and appendageal tumours.

KW - appendageal tumors

KW - hematopoetic and lymphoid tumors

KW - keratinocytic tumors

KW - melanocytic tumors

KW - nail unit tumors

KW - skin metastases

KW - soft tissue tumors

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105022616444

U2 - 10.1111/his.15562

DO - 10.1111/his.15562

M3 - Review article

C2 - 41263762

AN - SCOPUS:105022616444

SN - 0309-0167

VL - 88

SP - 555

EP - 568

JO - Histopathology

JF - Histopathology

IS - 3

ER -

WHO classification of skin tumours: key updates in the fifth edition

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this