Acne Keloidalis Nuchae: A Staged Reconstruction.

Acne keloidalis nuchae (AKN) is a chronic scarring folliculitis that affects the occipital area. It is characterized by papule and pustule formation which eventually leads to tumor-like mass. Early cases can be managed by medical treatment that may require months, and, usually, lesions recur.

Evolution of superficial spreading melanoma to resemble desmoplastic melanoma: case report.

Desmoplastic melanoma commonly occurs on the head and neck in a pure form, but occasionally, it occurs in a mixed tumor with another type, usually superficial spreading melanoma (SSM), and rarely as a metastasis from a primary SSM. We report here a primary SSM on the leg of a 32-year-old male which metastasised to lymph nodes, and 10 years later recurred at the primary site initially with mixed features but evolving to resemble a uniformly desmoplastic, deeply invasive melanoma. This unusual case has implications for clinical management and is additionally notable for its reversal in behavior, from metastatic to local infiltrative type, correlating with the change in morphology.

The EORTC-DeCOG nomogram adequately predicts outcomes of patients with sentinel node-positive melanoma without the need for completion lymph node dissection.

Purpose: Based on recent advances in the management of patients with sentinel node (SN)-positive melanoma, we aimed to develop prediction models for recurrence, distant metastasis (DM) and overall mortality (OM).

Methods: The derivation cohort consisted of 1080 patients with SN-positive melanoma from nine European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) centres. Prognostic factors for recurrence, DM and OM were studied with Cox regression analysis.

Aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinoma and sentinel node biopsy: A case report and literature review.

Aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinomas (ADPA) are malignant tumours of the sweat gland. Due to the high tendency to recur and metastasise, wide local resection of the lesion is recommended. However, there are a limited number of cases reporting the use of sentinel node biopsy in the management of ADPA, thus its effectiveness remains unclear.

Cartilage-like composition of keloid scar extracellular matrix suggests fibroblast mis-differentiation in disease.

Following wound damage to the skin, the scarring spectrum is wide-ranging, from a manageable normal scar through to pathological keloids. The question remains whether these fibrotic lesions represent simply a quantitative extreme, or alternatively, whether they are qualitatively distinct. A three-way comparison of the extracellular matrix (ECM) composition of normal skin, normal scar and keloids was performed using quantitative discovery-based proteomics.

Risk stratification of sentinel node-positive melanoma patients defines surgical management and adjuvant therapy treatment considerations.

Background: In light of the evolving landscape of adjuvant therapy in melanoma and the recently confirmed absent survival benefit of completion lymph node dissection (CLND), it becomes important to explore possible consequences of omitting CLND, and whether it is possible to adequately stratify positive sentinel node (SN) patients solely based on information retrieved from the melanoma up to the sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB).

Methods: A retrospective cohort from nine European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Melanoma Group centres was used. Patients were staged based on SLNB and CLND result according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) criteria and stratified by ulceration and SN tumour burden.

Plaque-like Myofibroblastic Tumor: 2 Cases of This Unusual Dermal Tumor Which Occurs in Infancy and Early Childhood.

Plaque-like myofibroblastic tumor (PLMT) is a rare dermal spindle cell tumor which occurs in infancy or childhood within the first 4 years of life. The tumor is often pruritic and mostly presents on the lower back. We describe 2 cases with characteristic clinical and histological features of this entity, thus adding to the 10 cases which have so far been reported.

Is sentinel lymph node biopsy warranted for desmoplastic melanoma? A systematic review.

Background: Desmoplastic melanoma (DM) is an uncommon malignancy associated with a high local recurrence rate. The aim of this systematic review was to determine the positivity rate of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in patients with DM. The secondary outcome was to establish if SLNB is warranted for both pure DM (PDM) and mixed DM (MDM).

Dying for a tan: a survey to assess solarium adherence to world health organization guidelines in australia, new zealand, and the United kingdom.

Background: Increased use of solariums worldwide has led to health concerns linking regular exposure to ultraviolet light with skin cancer. Most studies have attempted to delineate attitudes and motivations of users, with little inquiry into those entrusted as "service providers."

Methods: A questionnaire was designed specifically for the survey on the basis of World Health Organization guidelines.

To Mohs or not to Mohs.

Background: The preferred method of treatment of Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberance (DFSP) is surgery. Clear margins are achieved by wide local excision (WLE) or by Mohs micrographic surgery. Mohs surgery and reconstruction always requires two or more procedures.

Regulation of bone morphogenetic protein signalling and cranial osteogenesis by Gpc1 and Gpc3.

From birth, the vault of the skull grows at a prodigious rate, driven by the activity of osteoblastic cells at the fibrous joints (sutures) that separate the bony calvarial plates. One in 2500 children is born with a medical condition known as craniosynostosis because of premature bony fusion of the calvarial plates and a cessation of bone growth at the sutures. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are potent growth factors that promote bone formation.

Retinol-binding protein 4 is expressed in chondrocytes of developing mouse long bones: implications for a local role in formation of the secondary ossification center.

Retinol-binding protein 4 (Rbp4) is the major carrier of retinol in the bloodstream, a retinoid whose metabolites influence osteogenesis, chondrogenesis and adipogenesis. Rbp4 is mainly produced in the liver where it mobilizes hepatic retinol stores to supply other tissues. However, Rbp4 is also expressed in several extrahepatic tissues, including limbs, where its role is largely unknown.

Retinol-binding protein 4 downregulation during osteogenesis and its localization to non-endocytic vesicles in human cranial suture mesenchymal cells suggest a novel tissue function.

Craniosynostosis is a developmental disorder of the skull arising from premature bony fusion of cranial sutures, the sites of skull bone growth. In a recent gene microarray study, we demonstrated that retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP4) was the most highly downregulated gene in suture tissue during the pathological process of premature bony fusion. To gain insight into the function of RBP4 in cranial sutures, we analysed primary cells cultured from human cranial suture mesenchyme.

Development of an efficient, non-viral transfection method for studying gene function and bone growth in human primary cranial suture mesenchymal cells reveals that the cells respond to BMP2 and BMP3.

Background: Achieving efficient introduction of plasmid DNA into primary cultures of mammalian cells is a common problem in biomedical research. Human primary cranial suture cells are derived from the connective mesenchymal tissue between the bone forming regions at the edges of the calvarial plates of the skull. Typically they are referred to as suture mesenchymal cells and are a heterogeneous population responsible for driving the rapid skull growth that occurs in utero and postnatally.

Bone to pick: the importance of evaluating reference genes for RT-qPCR quantification of gene expression in craniosynostosis and bone-related tissues and cells.

Background: RT-qPCR is a common tool for quantification of gene expression, but its accuracy is dependent on the choice and stability (steady state expression levels) of the reference gene/s used for normalization. To date, in the bone field, there have been few studies to determine the most stable reference genes and, usually, RT-qPCR data is normalised to non-validated reference genes, most commonly GAPDH, ACTB and 18 S rRNA. Here we draw attention to the potential deleterious impact of using classical reference genes to normalise expression data for bone studies without prior validation of their stability.

When should pelvic sentinel lymph nodes be harvested in patients with malignant melanoma?

Background: Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy for sentinel node biopsy (SNB) combined with intra-operative gamma-probe detection often identifies nodes within the pelvis. This study investigates the role of pelvic SNB harvest.

Methods: Retrospective review of eighty-two stage I/II melanoma patients with primary tumour on the lower limb and trunk who underwent groin SNB, either inguinal or pelvic or both, over a three year period.

Assessment of proliferation markers in metastatic melanoma in sentinel lymph nodes.

Aim: Some views on sentinel nodes for melanoma seem to cast doubt on the relevance of micrometastases in the sentinel nodes of patients with melanoma, suggesting that small metastases or isolated tumour cells can be ignored. Tumour dormancy has been proposed for their postulated lack of progression. The implication of the argument seems to be that minute metastases are inactive and therefore non-threatening, whereas larger ones are proliferative and therefore have aggressive potential.

Studying permeability in a commonly used epithelial cell line: T84 intestinal epithelial cells.

The integrity, or barrier function, of the intestinal epithelium is of paramount importance in -maintaining good health. This is largely imparted by a single layer of epithelial cells linked by the transmembrane tight junction protein complex near their apical surface. Disruption of epithelial permeability via the tight junctions can contribute to disease progression.