This paper describes two patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the periocular and periorbital skin who presented with trigeminal neuralgia. Both patients had previous cutaneous SCC of the scalp treated successfully with surgical resection but later presented with neuro-ophthalmic findings suggesting perineural invasion (PNI) of SCC. PNI of SCC in the periocular skin or orbit can lead to devastating effects if malignant cells seed into the orbit and adjacent cranial nerves as our two patients developed an orbital apex syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSubcutaneous atrophy is a known complication of steroid injections. Excellent results with fat grafting for the treatment of steroid atrophy have been documented. However, the benefit of treating steroid-induced subcutaneous atrophy in an extremity diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) has not been described.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelanoma is the most aggressive and deadly form of cutaneous neoplasm due to its propensity to metastasize. Oncogenic BRAF drives sustained activation of the BRAF/MEK/ERK (MAPK) pathway and cooperates with PI3K/AKT/mTOR (PI3K) signaling to induce epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), leading to cell invasion and metastasis. Therefore, targeting these pathways is a promising preventive/therapeutic strategy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelanoma is the least common form of skin cancer, but it is responsible for the majority of skin cancer deaths. Traditional therapeutics and immunomodulatory agents have not shown much efficacy against metastatic melanoma. Agents that target the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK (MAPK) signaling pathway - the BRAF inhibitors vemurafenib and dabrafenib, and the MEK1/2 inhibitor trametinib - have increased survival in patients with metastatic melanoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMalignant melanoma is responsible for approximately 75% of skin cancer-related deaths. BRAF plays an important role in regulating the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade in melanoma with activating mutations in the serine/threonine kinase BRAF occurring in 60-70% of malignant melanomas. The BRAF-MEK-ERK (MAPK) pathway is a key regulator of melanoma cell invasion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) have emerged as two effective clinical targets for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the present study, we found that delphinidin, an anthocyanidin, present in pigmented fruits and vegetables, is a potent inhibitor of both EGFR and VEGFR2 in NSCLC cells that overexpress EGFR/VEGFR2. Using these cells, we next determined the effects of delphinidin on cell growth and apoptosis in vitro and on tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Lipodystrophies are categorized by the extent of fat loss (generalized vs. partial) and by inheritance (congenital vs. acquired).
View Article and Find Full Text PDF