Risk factors and prevention strategies for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma in transplant recipients.

It has been well established that organ transplant recipients (OTRs) are at an increased risk of skin cancer. Studies vary on the exact degree of this risk, but it is likely somewhere between 60 and 100 times more likely that an OTR patient will develop skin cancer. The management of skin cancer burden in OTRs requires a multidisciplinary approach with the transplant team, dermatologists, and oncology.

Breast Carcinoma After Ocrelizumab Therapy in Multiple Sclerosis Patients: A Case Series and Literature Review.

Ocrelizumab is a humanized CD20 monoclonal antibody which was approved for management of Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS) and Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis (PPMS) in 2017. We present 2 patients, a 67-year-old woman with history of PPMS and a 42-year-old woman with RRMS, who were started on ocrelizumab and were diagnosed with invasive ductal cell breast carcinoma after 2 years of ocrelizumab infusion followed by discontinuation of the drug. Large trials conducted for ocrelizumab showed malignancies in a total of 4 cases with RRMS in OPERA 1 trial conducted over 2 years from 2011 to 2013 (breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma, and melanomas) and in 11 cases with PPMS seen in ORATORIO trial conducted in 2017.

Melanoma on chronically sun-damaged skin: Lentigo maligna and desmoplastic melanoma.

There are multiple, genetically distinct pathways that give rise to melanoma. Melanomas on sun-damaged skin (MSDS), including lentigo maligna and desmoplastic melanoma, have distinct genetic profiles and are uniquely linked to chronic ultraviolet exposure. In this article, we discuss the etiologies of lentigo maligna and desmoplastic melanoma, emerging diagnostic adjuncts that might be helpful for accurately identifying these lesions, and the clinical relevance of their frequent co-occurrence.

Tuberculosis and interleukin blocking monoclonal antibodies: Is there risk?

Several new monoclonal antibodies that interfere with interleukin (IL) cascades have come to market in recent years. They follow a generation of drugs that block tumor necrosis factor (TNF). It has been well established that TNF is important in the containment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and that blocking this cytokine increases the risk of tuberculosis (TB) infection.

Deer ked: a Lyme-carrying ectoparasite on the move.

, known as the deer ked, is an ectoparasite of cervids traditionally found in northern European countries such as Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Although rarely reported in the United States, this vector recently has been shown to carry and from specimens collected domestically. Importantly, it has been suggested that deer keds are one of the many disease-carrying vectors that are now found in more expansive regions of the world due to climate change.

Reflectance Confocal Microscopy Can Help the Dermatopathologist in the Diagnosis of Challenging Skin Lesions.

Despite the successful assignment of Current Procedural Terminology codes, there are barriers to incorporating in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) into daily practice. Importantly, the dermatopathologist can play a key role in interpreting RCM images and can use these images to correlate with histopathology. Herein, we describe, using a case series, how RCM can be incorporated into the dermatopothalogist's practice.

Amyloidosis: A story of how inframammary erosions eclipsed inconspicuous periorbital ecchymoses.

Systemic amyloidosis is a rare disease that can be rapidly progressive due to widespread organ involvement. There are well-described renal, cardiac, pulmonary, neurological, and dermatologic findings. Here, we outline one patient's experience with the condition from presentation to making the diagnosis.