Intraepidermal squamous neoplasia is a precursor to invasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. The most common type of intraepidermal squamous neoplasia is actinic keratosis (AK), although there is compelling clinicopathological evidence of a second distinct pattern of squamous dysplasia termed Bowen disease (BD). The distinction between these pathways of dysplasia has been inconsistently delineated in the literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFollowing an outbreak of in Wales in July 2021 associated with sheep meat and offal, further genetically related cases were detected across the UK. Cases were UK residents with laboratory-confirmed in the same 5-single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) single-linkage cluster with specimen date between 01/08/2021-2031/12/2022. We described cases using routine (UK) and enhanced (Wales only) surveillance data.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is a significant cause of morbidity for immunosuppressed patients such as organ transplant recipients; however, histological parameters which predict the likelihood of tumor progression are typically based on general population studies in which immunosuppressed patients represent only a small fraction of cases.
Objectives: To determine the histological parameters which have independent prognostic value for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma arising in renal transplant recipients.
Methods: Case-control study incorporating a retrospective blinded histological review of 70 archived specimens of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma diagnosed in renal transplant recipients, comprising 10 cases where the tumor had progressed and 60 controls.
The terms 'Bowen disease' and 'intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma' are sometimes considered synonymous. In this paper we present historical, clinical, histological and molecular evidence that this is incorrect. The term Bowen disease should be reserved for a subset of intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma with a distinctive and reproducible morphological pattern, described in detail by Bowen in 1912.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMorphological overlap exists between cutaneous granular cell tumours (GCT) and malignant melanoma, with the melanocyte-specific markers HMB45 and Melan-A commonly used to support the diagnosis of melanoma. We recently encountered several cases of GCT in our practice showing strong expression of Melan-A. The aim of this study was to establish the prevalence of positive immunohistochemical staining for Melan-A and HMB45 in a series of unequivocal GCTs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSebaceous carcinoma is a rare cutaneous malignancy which is typically regarded as relatively aggressive and has traditionally been subdivided into periorbital or extraorbital tumours. We conducted a retrospective review of all cases of sebaceous carcinoma reported to the Western Australian Cancer Registry between 1987 and May 2019. The incidence of sebaceous carcinoma in Western Australia has increased over the last three decades, with extraorbital tumours being much more common than periorbital tumours.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to review the dermatopathological findings in skin biopsy specimens from pediatric oncology and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients over a 20-year period. Three hundred fifty-two skin biopsies from 240 patients were reviewed, and the findings were grouped into 6 categories: index neoplasms, nonindex neoplasms, infections, graft-versus-host disease, other treatment complications, and others. Among the index neoplasms identified on skin biopsy, the most common conditions were Langerhans cell histiocytosis (14 patients) and melanoma (7 patients), with other hematological malignancies and an array of soft-tissue tumors accounting for the bulk of the remainder.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDeep penetrating nevus (DPN) is a pigmented melanocytic tumor which typically displays a wedge-shaped deep penetrating architecture. Some cases show a coexisting component resembling conventional melanocytic nevus. These morphological attributes are correlated with the acquisition of genomic alterations in the Wnt pathway on a background of underlying activating MAPK pathway mutations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPreferentially expressed antigen in melanoma (PRAME) is a tumor-associated repressor of retinoic acid signaling which is expressed in melanoma and has emerged as a potential biomarker for malignant behavior in melanocytic neoplasms. Although ancillary molecular techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are established techniques in the diagnosis of problematic cutaneous melanocytic proliferations, they are expensive, time-consuming, and require appropriate infrastructure, which places them out of reach of some laboratories. The advent of readily available commercial antibodies to PRAME has the potential to provide a more accessible alternative.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBRCA1-associated protein-1 (BAP1)-deficient cutaneous tumors are common in patients with BAP1 tumor predisposition syndrome, frequently presenting before other associated neoplasms, and can serve as an early marker to identify individuals with this disease. The typical lesions are dermal based and composed of a combination of larger epithelioid melanocytes with abundant glassy cytoplasm and smaller cells resembling those of a conventional nevus. There is often a component of interspersed lymphocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe distinction between nevoid melanoma and a mitotically active nevus can be challenging at the microscopic level. In this study, we performed cytogenetic testing on a cohort of 25 mitotically active melanocytic proliferations resembling common melanocytic nevus from 25 patients. Based on cytogenetic findings, the lesions were classified as "nevoid melanoma" (n = 13) or "mitotically active nevus" (n = 12).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA group of melanomas characterised by predominant growth as large nests within the epidermis has been described. These cases present a diagnostic challenge, as many traditional architectural criteria for the recognition of melanoma are absent. We report the clinical, histological, immunohistochemical, morphometric and cytogenetic features of a series of 12 cases of large nested melanoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWhile most melanomas display well-characterised and readily recognised architectural and cytomorphological features, unusual variants can create diagnostic difficulties. Variants which mimic benign or reactive processes are particularly problematic. We report 5 cases of melanoma characterised by a subtle microscopic appearance reminiscent of a benign dermal histiocytic infiltrate, which we refer to as "histiocytoid melanoma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNevi can show a polypoid appearance both clinically and histologically. Anecdotally, polypoid compound melanocytic nevus may exhibit a spectrum of junctional architectural and cytologic atypia, at times creating a diagnostic challenge by mimicking the radial growth phase of melanoma. To investigate this issue, we prospectively reviewed 40 polypoid compound melanocytic proliferations without overt malignant features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPartial regression is common in cutaneous melanoma; however, complete regression manifesting as tumoural melanosis is rare, conceptually challenging and under-reported. In this study we report on clinical, histological and molecular findings in four cases of completely regressed cutaneous melanoma with nodal or brain metastasis, followed by a comprehensive review of the literature. Our series included three women and one man with an average age of 60 years, and clinical presentation with hyper-pigmented cutaneous lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFlagellate erythema is a distinctive eruption characterized by "whip-like" linear or curvilinear streaks and plaques, occurring mainly on the trunk. It has classically been described in 2 disparate clinical settings: chemotherapy with bleomycin and ingestion of mushrooms (most commonly Shiitake mushrooms). Most of the literature comprises single case reports, often with minimal histological description of rather nonspecific features.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext.—: Melanocytic lesions are common in routine surgical pathology. Although the majority of these lesions can be confidently diagnosed using well-established morphologic criteria, there is a significant subset of lesions that can be diagnostically difficult.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Pain management and patient satisfaction are key markers for health systems performance. There is a lack of consensus on the role of analgesia, its adequacy, and its links to patient satisfaction in the ED. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between adequacy of analgesia and patient satisfaction in the ED setting.
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