Cherry angioma, also called cherry hemangioma, is a small bright red dome-shaped bump on the skin. It ranges between 0.5 – 6 mm in diameter and usually several are present, typically on the chest and arms, and increasing in number with age. If scratched, they may bleed.They are a harmless benign tumour, containing an abnormal proliferation of blood vessels, and have no relationship to cancer. They are the most common kind of angioma, and increase with age, occurring in nearly all adults over 30 years. Campbell de Morgan is the nineteenth-century British surgeon who first described them. Signs and symptoms
Cherry angiomas are made up of clusters of capillaries at the surface of the skin, forming a small round dome ("papule"), which may be flat topped. They range in colour from bright red to purple. When they first develop, they may be only a tenth of a millimeter in diameter and almost flat, appearing as small red dots. However, they then usually grow to about one or two millimeters across, and sometimes to a centimeter or more in diameter. As they grow larger, they tend to expand in thickness, and may take on the raised and rounded shape of a dome. Multiple adjoining angiomas form a polypoid angioma. Because the blood vessels comprising an angioma are so close to the skins surface, cherry angiomas may bleed profusely if they are injured.One study found that the majority of capillaries in cherry hemangiomas are fenestrated and stain for carbonic anhydrase activity.
Chemicals and compounds that have been seen to cause cherry angiomas are mustard gas, 2-butoxyethanol, bromides, and cyclosporine.A significant increase in the density of mast cells has been seen in cherry hemangiomas compared with normal skin. Diagnosis
The diagnosis is based on the clinical appearance of the lesions. Examination with a dermatoscope shows characteristic red, purple, or blue-black lagoons. The differential diagnosis includes nodular basal cell carcinoma, amelanotic melanoma, and angiokeratoma. Treatment
These lesions generally do not require treatment. If they are cosmetically unappealing or are subject to bleeding angiomas may be removed by electrocautery, a process of destroying the tissue by use of a small probe with an electric current running through it. Removal may cause scarring. More recently pulsed dye laser or intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment has also been used.Future treatment based on a locally acting inhibitor of MEK1 and Cyclin E1 could possibly be an option. A natural MEK1 inhibitor is myricetin. Prognosis
In most patients, the number and size of cherry angiomas increases with advancing age. They are harmless, having no relation to cancer at all. Eruptive cherry hemangiomatosis, has been rarely reported as a heralding sign of multicentric Castleman disease (MCD), multiple myeloma and other lymphoproliferative diseases. Epidemiology
Cherry angiomas occur in all races, ethnic backgrounds, and sexes. References
External links

eMedicine with picture showing small red dots
Pereira, José Marcos (2004). "Hemangioma rubi no couro cabeludo". Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia. 79: 83–89. doi:10.1590/S0365-05962004000100010.