Focus on melanonychia

Dear Readers,

It gives me immense pleasure to steer the Journal of Onychology and Nail Surgery (JONS) through its 2^nd consecutive year of its publication. The Nail Society of India (NSI) had pioneered a benchmark addition to the world of nail research with the release of the first-ever issue of an international medical journal focusing solely on nails in health and disease. This nostalgic moment of its release on the 1^st of December, 2024 at Nagpur, during the proceedings of 13^th ONYCHOCON, (Annual National Conference of NSI), is as fresh in our memories, as is the build-up towards the conception of the idea, finalisation of its publisher details, inviting submissions, launch of the website and production of the first issue. This third issue nurtures these memories further and aims to channelise the momentum of JONS towards producing theme-based issues.

Pigmentation in the nail means various things in various parts of the world; though, largely it remains a cause of concern everywhere. The third issue of JONS has an interesting collection of articles dealing with various aspects of melanonychia. The review article deals with melanonychia of recent onset in an adult patient. The data curated are specifically pertaining to the pigmented skin and aim to help clinicians follow a step-wise approach towards this often-repeated question in our interactions. Our aware and social media-fed population is afraid of ‘melanoma of the nail’ and seeks guidance from dermatologists regarding the same, more and more often. Hence, JONS aims to empower dermatologists to deal better with this situation. Nail unit melanoma is a cause of significant concern and not only a ‘rare disorder’, as highlighted in the authoritative Commentary by none other than Dr. Eckart Haneke,^[1] an onychologist of repute and a valuable editorial Board Member of JONS. Case reports in this issue also talk about a delayed diagnosis of nail unit melanoma, where the guard was low; and about pseudo-melanonychia as an occupational disorder in Indian skin, where the suspicion was high.

It is not just the nail unit melanoma, but other nail tumours as well, which we have curated in this issue, including reports from nail enthusiasts from around the world. Nail unit squamous cell carcinoma is another malignant nail tumour that remains unsuspected and ignored for years together, due to a lack of awareness among dermatologists, which this report intends to generate. Other rare occurrences, such as exostosis and adenolipoma in the nail unit, are also discussed.

It is not just black that we are afraid of, but white as well! This issue describes siblings with familial true leukonychia. The original article discusses nail changes in patients with chronic kidney disease, including a substantial number with various types of leukonychia. We hope that an interesting mix of mechanical nail disorders (malalignment, onychogryphosis and onychoheterotopia), inherited nail disorders (pachyonychia congenita and its treatment) and inflammatory nail disorders (nail lichen planus and its treatment) will keep the reader’s interest alive and motivate them to consider JONS for sharing their interesting observations, comments and studies. The steady rise in manuscript submissions from multiple countries reaffirms the global relevance of onychology and the growing recognition of JONS as an international academic platform. It also enables us to keep bringing new issues on time! It is our endeavour to continue nurturing this momentum by bringing forth high-quality, theme-based issues that are clinically meaningful, scientifically rigorous and educationally enriching.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to all authors, reviewers, editorial board members and readers whose commitment and enthusiasm have shaped the evolution of this journal.

JONS is fortunate to be able to access the services of experienced reviewers who selflessly devote their effort to making the system robust and scientific, while ensuring the timely processing of articles. We hope that this issue on melanonychia further stimulates clinical thought, enhances diagnostic confidence and encourages further research in this important aspect of nail pathology.

Happy reading and looking forward to receiving your responses, comments and future contributions!

The editor is grateful to the following individuals who have generously given their time and expertise in reviewing the papers submitted to JONS over the past year [Table 1].

Regards,

Dr. Chander Grover

Editor-in-Chief