The initial histology was re-examined. S100 was negative on the pigment-containing cells. These were actually a dense collection of melanin-laden macrophages (melanophages). The term TM is used to describe this phenomenon.Although regression is a well-known histological and clinical feature of malignant melanoma, complete regression is rare. The exact incidence is unknown. Some cases of metastatic melanoma with an unknown primary are likely to be due to spontaneous complete regression of the primary melanoma. Several histological patterns of complete regression have been described including florid lichenoid inflammation, complete regression with residual benign naevoid component, and TM. 5 TM or nodular melanosis refers to the presence of a dense aggregate of melanophages. It is a rare histological finding; a search of the world literature revealed only a few reports of TM and of these only one was as a result of completely regressed melanoma. 6 It can also be seen with other cutaneous lesions including heavily pigmented naevi, pigmented basal cell carcinomas, and other pigmented epithelial neoplasms. 7 TM therefore poses a diagnostic challenge for histopathologists, although completely regressed melanoma obviously needs to be included as a differential diagnosis.In summary, we present a patient exhibiting the rare histological picture of TM replacing a regressed malignant melanoma. As TM is so rare it can easily be misinterpreted, for example as a heavily pigmented benign naevus. Clinicopathological correlation in this case, with regional lymph node and disseminated metastases, made a diagnosis of regressed melanoma fairly straightforward, but the isolated finding of TM can rarely occur with other cutaneous tumours.