Cutaneous lymphomas are a group of rare and distinct diseases that present varying clinical manifestations, histopathology and prognosis. Optimal and early management relies on accurate diagnosis. Unfortunately, clinical diagnosis in early stages is difficult due to the clinical overlap with other dermatologic conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: For patients with early American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)-stage melanoma the combined loss of the autophagy regulatory protein AMBRA1 and the terminal differentiation marker loricrin in the peritumoral epidermis is associated with a significantly increased risk of metastasis.
Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential contribution of melanoma paracrine transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signalling to the loss of AMBRA1 in the epidermis overlying the primary tumour and disruption of epidermal integrity.
Methods: Immunohistochemistry was used to analyse AMBRA1 and TGF-β2 in a cohort of 109 AJCC all-stage melanomas, and TGF-β2 and claudin-1 in a cohort of 30 or 42 AJCC stage I melanomas, respectively, with known AMBRA1 and loricrin (AMLo) expression.
Basal cell carcinoma is one of the most common cancers in white people, with a continuous increase worldwide. Dermoscopy, a non-invasive technique, allows early diagnosis based on the presence of typical vascular structures, pigmented structures, and ulceration and the absence of specific melanocytic structures. Moreover, dermoscopy is useful in basal cell carcinoma management, enabling the differentiation between multiple histological subtypes, between pigmented and non-pigmented variants and allowing a more accurate assessment of surgical margins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Radiological imaging such as computed tomography (CT) is used frequently for disease staging and therapy monitoring in advanced skin cancer patients. Detected lesions of unclear dignity are a common challenge for treating physicians. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency and outcome of CT-guided biopsy (CTGB) of radiologically unclear, suspicious lesions and to depict its usefulness in different clinical settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAccurate classification of melanocytic proliferations has important implications for prognostic prediction, treatment and follow-up. Although most melanocytic proliferations can be accurately classified using clinical and pathological criteria, classification (specifically distinction between nevus and melanoma) can be challenging in a subset of cases, including those with spitzoid morphology. Genetic studies have shown that mutation profiles differ between primary melanoma subtypes and Spitz nevi.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPatients with melanoma have an increased risk of having other neoplasms, and particularly other melanomas and non-melanoma skin cancers. The study aimed to describe multiple primary melanomas in a large medical university centre from Romania (Cluj-Napoca) from 2004 to 2020. Out of 699 patients with melanoma included in the study, 26 (3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutophagy is required for normal skin homeostasis and its disordered regulation is implicated in a range of cutaneous diseases. Several well-characterized biomarkers of autophagy are used experimentally to quantify autophagic activity or clinically to correlate autophagy with disease progression. This article discusses the advantages and limitations of different approaches for measuring autophagy as well as the techniques for modulating autophagy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeep penetrating nevi (DPN) are rare melanocytic nevi, which can exhibit atypical histological features hampering the differentiation from malignant melanoma. DPN are considered benign melanocytic lesions, but rare spread to lymph nodes and unfavorable clinical outcomes associated with borderline/atypical DPN (B-DPN) has been reported. Since no guidelines are available for DPN and B-DPN, we aimed to review the literature on DPN and B-DPN to assess the management and prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is defined as a chronic condition characterized by unpredictable relapsing episodes of gastrointestinal inflammation. IBD is not limited to the gastrointestinal tract and should be considered a systemic disease which can involve any organ. Cutaneous manifestations in IBD are frequent and comprise a broad spectrum of diseases, ranging from mild to severe and sometimes debilitating lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: GNAQ and GNA11 mutant nonuveal melanoma represent a poorly characterized rare subgroup of melanoma with a gene mutation profile similar to uveal melanoma.
Objectives: To characterize these tumours in terms of clinical behaviour and genetic characteristics.
Methods: Patients with nonuveal GNAQ/11 mutated melanoma were identified from the prospective multicentre tumour tissue registry ADOREG, Tissue Registry in Melanoma (TRIM) and additional cooperating skin cancer centres.
Extramammary Paget's disease (EPD) is a rare, slowly growing, cutaneous adenocarcinoma with an incidence of 0.1-2.4 per 1,000,000 inhabitants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Aim: Melanomas arising in acral sites are associated with a poorer prognosis than other melanoma subtypes. The aim of this study was to evaluate clinical-pathological and genetic characteristics as well as therapeutic responses of a larger cohort of patients with melanomas arising in acral sites.
Methods: Clinical data of 134 patients with melanomas arising in acral sites from the Dept.
Acral naevi are benign melanocytic tumors occurring at acral sites. Occasionally they can progress to become malignant tumors (melanomas). The genetics of acral naevi have not been assessed in larger studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Conjunctival melanoma is a potentially deadly eye tumour. Despite effective local therapies, tumour recurrence and metastasis remain frequent. The genetics of conjunctival melanomas remain incompletely understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Most smokers start smoking during their early adolescence, often with the idea that smoking is glamorous; the dramatic health consequences are too far in the future to fathom. We recently designed and tested an intervention that takes advantage of the broad availability of mobile phones as well as adolescents' interest in their appearance. A free photoageing mobile app (Smokerface) was implemented by medical students in secondary schools via a novel method called mirroring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAtypical fibroxanthomas and pleomorphic dermal sarcomas are tumors arising in sun-damaged skin of elderly patients. They have differing prognoses and are currently distinguished using histological criteria, such as invasion of deeper tissue structures, necrosis and lymphovascular or perineural invasion. To investigate the as-yet poorly understood genetics of these tumors, 41 atypical fibroxanthomas and 40 pleomorphic dermal sarcomas were subjected to targeted next-generation sequencing approaches as well as DNA copy number analysis by comparative genomic hybridization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Dtsch Dermatol Ges
September 2017
Die Behandlungsstrategie beim metastasierten Melanom hat sich mit der Identifizierung therapeutisch angreifbarer molekularer Zielstrukturen innerhalb zellulärer Signalwege radikal geändert. Durch die Zulassung von Substanzen, die gezielt an den zentralen Schaltmolekülen, den Phosphokinasen, angreifen, können diese Signalwege selektiv abgeschaltet werden. Dies ist insbesondere bei denjenigen Tumoren von Interesse, deren Signalwege durch aktivierende Mutationen der für die Schaltmoleküle kodierenden Gene konstitutiv aktiviert sind.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe identification of targetable molecules in cellular signaling pathways represents a milestone in the treatment of melanoma. Selective inhibitors of these molecules, known as phosphokinases, allow for individual signaling pathways to be "switched off". This is of particular importance for tumors in which these pathways are constitutively activated by mutations in genes encoding said molecules.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Around 90% of melanomas are caused by ultraviolet (UV) exposure and are therefore eminently preventable. Unhealthy tanning behavior is mostly initiated in early adolescence, often with the belief that it increases attractiveness; the problems related to skin atrophy and malignant melanoma are too far in the future to fathom. Photoaging desktop programs, in which an image is altered to predict future appearance, have been successful in positively influencing behavior in adiposity or tobacco prevention settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Mucosal melanoma (MM) is a rare but diverse cancer entity. Prognostic factors are not well established for Caucasians with MM.
Patients And Methods: We analysed the disease course of 444 patients from 15 German skin cancer centres.
Blue nevi are melanocytic tumors originating in the cutaneous dermis. Malignant tumors may arise in association with or resembling blue nevi, so called 'blue nevus-like melanoma', which can metastasize and result in patient death. Identifying which tumors will behave in a clinically aggressive manner can be challenging.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Mucosal melanoma represents ~1% of all melanomas, frequently having a poor prognosis due to diagnosis at a late stage of disease. Mucosal melanoma differs from cutaneous melanoma not only in terms of poorer clinical outcome but also on the molecular level having e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol
August 2017