Treatment strategies with electrochemotherapy for limb in-transit melanoma: Real-world outcomes from a European, retrospective, cohort study.

Background: This study analysed treatment strategies with electrochemotherapy (ECT) in melanoma with limb in-transit metastases (ITM).

Methods: We audited AJCC v.8 stage IIIB-IIID patients treated across 22 centres (2006-2020) within the International Network for Sharing Practices of ECT (InspECT).

Energy level as a theranostic factor for successful therapy of tissue injuries with polyphosphate: the triad metabolic energy - mechanical energy - heat.

Tissue regeneration of skin and bone is an energy-intensive, ATP-consuming process that, if impaired, can lead to the development of chronic clinical pictures. ATP levels in the extracellular space including the exudate of wounds, especially chronic wounds, are low. This deficiency can be compensated by inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) supplied the blood platelets to the regenerating site.

Liquid-liquid phase transition as a basis for novel materials for skin repair and regeneration.

Inorganic materials are of increasing interest not only for bone repair but also for other applications in regenerative medicine. In this study, the combined effects of energy-providing, regeneratively active inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) and also morphogenetically active pearl powder on wound healing were investigated. Aragonite, the mineralic constituent of pearl nacre and thermodynamically unstable form of crystalline calcium carbonate, was found to be converted into a soluble state in the presence of a Ca-containing wound exudate, particularly upon addition of sodium polyP (Na-polyP), driven by the transfer of Ca ions from aragonite to polyP, leading to liquid-liquid phase separation to form an aqueous Ca-polyP coacervate.

Seborrheic keratosis.

Seborrheic keratosis (SK) is the most common benign epidermal tumor in clinical dermatological practice. This review summarizes current knowledge about the clinical and histological appearance, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment of SK. There are different subtypes of SK based on clinical presentation and histologic findings.

Acceleration of Wound Healing through Amorphous Calcium Carbonate, Stabilized with High-Energy Polyphosphate.

Amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), precipitated in the presence of inorganic polyphosphate (polyP), has shown promise as a material for bone regeneration due to its morphogenetic and metabolic energy (ATP)-delivering properties. The latter activity of the polyP-stabilized ACC ("ACC∙PP") particles is associated with the enzymatic degradation of polyP, resulting in the transformation of ACC into crystalline polymorphs. In a novel approach, stimulated by these results, it was examined whether "ACC∙PP" also promotes the healing of skin injuries, especially chronic wounds.

Electrochemotherapy for the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: The INSPECT experience (2008-2020).

Introduction: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a frequent skin cancer with a high risk of recurrence characterized by tumor infiltration and, in advanced cases, a poor prognosis. ECT (electrochemotherapy) is an alternative treatment option for locally advanced or recurrent cSCC that is unsuitable for surgical resection. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the data in the InspECT (International Network for Sharing Practice on ECT) registry of the referral centers and to clarify the indications for the use of ECT as a treatment modality for cSCC.

Polyphosphate in Chronic Wound Healing: Restoration of Impaired Metabolic Energy State.

Many pathological conditions are characterized by a deficiency of metabolic energy. A prominent example is nonhealing or difficult-to-heal chronic wounds. Because of their unique ability to serve as a source of metabolic energy, inorganic polyphosphates (polyP) offer the opportunity to develop novel strategies to treat such wounds.

Surgical Treatment in Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, progressive inflammatory disorder of follicular occlusion with pubertal onset that presents as painful inflammatory nodules, sinus tracts, and tunnelling in apocrine-gland-rich areas, such as the axilla, groin, lower back, and buttocks. The disease course is complicated by contractures, keloids, and immobility and is often associated with a low quality of life. It is considered a disorder of follicular occlusion with secondary inflammation, though the exact cause is not known.

Efficacy of botulinum toxin in masseter muscle hypertrophy for lower face contouring.

Background: Masseter muscle hypertrophy (MMH) usually presents with cosmetic concerns as it may lead to widening of the lower face. Apart from the traditional surgical approaches, botulinum toxin type A (BTA) injection is a non-invasive treatment option available. There are no standard guidelines for this procedure.

Acceleration of chronic wound healing by bio-inorganic polyphosphate: studies and first clinical applications.

The healing of chronic wounds is impaired by a lack of metabolic energy. In previous studies, we showed that physiological inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) is a generator of metabolic energy by forming ATP as a result of the enzymatic cleavage of the high-energy phosphoanhydride bonds of this polymer. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated whether the administration of polyP can substitute for the energy deficiency in chronic wound healing.

The therapeutic potential of inorganic polyphosphate: A versatile physiological polymer to control coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is advancing rapidly. In particular, the number of severe courses of the disease is still dramatically high. An efficient drug therapy that helps to improve significantly the fatal combination of damages in the airway epithelia, in the extensive pulmonary microvascularization and finally multiorgan failure, is missing.

The biomaterial polyphosphate blocks stoichiometric binding of the SARS-CoV-2 S-protein to the cellular ACE2 receptor.

The effect of the polyanionic polymer of inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) involved in innate immunity on the binding of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the cellular ACE2 receptor was studied. The RBD surface comprises a basic amino acid stretch of four arginine residues which interact with the physiological polyP (polyP) and polyP. Subsequently, the interaction of RBD with ACE2 is sensitively inhibited.

Biomimetic Alginate/Gelatin Cross-Linked Hydrogels Supplemented with Polyphosphate for Wound Healing Applications.

In the present study, the fabrication of a biomimetic wound dressing that mimics the extracellular matrix, consisting of a hydrogel matrix composed of non-oxidized and periodate-oxidized marine alginate, was prepared to which gelatin was bound via Schiff base formation. Into this alginate/oxidized-alginate-gelatin hydrogel, polyP was stably but reversibly integrated by ionic cross-linking with Zn ions. Thereby, a soft hybrid material is obtained, consisting of a more rigid alginate scaffold and porous structures formed by the oxidized-alginate-gelatin hydrogel with ionically cross-linked polyP.

A physiologically active interpenetrating collagen network that supports growth and migration of epidermal keratinocytes: zinc-polyP nanoparticles integrated into compressed collagen.

The distinguished property of the physiological polymer, inorganic polyphosphate (polyP), is to act as a bio-intelligent material which releases stimulus-dependent metabolic energy to accelerate wound healing. This characteristic is based on the bio-imitating feature of polyP to be converted, upon exposure to peptide-containing body fluids, from stable amorphous nanoparticles to a physiologically active and energy-delivering coacervate phase. This property of polyP has been utilized to fabricate a wound mat consisting of compressed collagen supplemented with amorphous polyP particles, formed from the inorganic polyanion with an over-stoichiometric ratio of zinc ions.

Increased risk of angiosarcoma secondary to cancer radiotherapy: Case series and review of the treatment options.

Angiosarcomas (ASs) are aggressive tumors of vascular endothelial origin, occurring sporadically or in association with prior radiotherapy or chronic lymphedema. With only 1-5% of all sarcomas, the incidence seems low, but for the affected patient due to the extremely poor prognosis and the limited treatment options, the fate is often inevitable. Radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or "target therapy" have been used in the management of AS, but represent individual case decisions without lasting evidence.

Electrochemotherapy for advanced cutaneous angiosarcoma: A European register-based cohort study from the International Network for Sharing Practices of electrochemotherapy (InspECT).

Background: Cutaneous angiosarcoma (cAS) is a highly aggressive malignancy that challenges the radicality of surgical treatment. Electrochemotherapy (ECT), a skin-directed treatment based on cytotoxic chemotherapy combined with local electric pulses, may be an intraoperative adjunct and a new opportunity in the therapeutic strategy. This cohort study reports the experience with ECT as an option.

Lymphedema: An early sign of rodent ulcer metastasis leads to timely intervention.

Basal cell carcinoma has a potential for early and late metastasis. Depending on the location of the primary site, the relevant lymphatic drainage routes have to be monitored. Regional lymph edema may be a first indicator for metastasizing disease.

[The "light" version of a perforator flap: significance of the Keystone Designed Perforator Flap Concept (KDPFC) in the lower extremity].

Introduction: Since the KDPFC was first described by Behan et al. in 2003, there have been a number of publications about this technique with case series between 1 and 300 flaps, and some have described further modifications of the design of the flap. The flap design resembles the keystone of a Roman arch and is based on the angiosome concept.