Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: a population-based cancer registry descriptive study of 66 consecutive cases diagnosed between 1982 and 2002.

Background: Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare malignant tumour of the skin, with an estimated incidence of 0.8 to five cases per 1 million people per year.

Objective: To study epidemiological, immunohistochemical and clinical features, delay in diagnosis, type of treatment and outcome of DFSP from 1982 to 2002.

[Dermatosis-arthritis syndrome associated with Crohn's disease in a teenager].

Introduction: Pustulosis, erythema nodosum, arthritis and systemic manifestations are associated in the dermatosis-arthritis syndrome. It is a well recognized complication of the bowel ileo-jejunal bypass but it is also associated with inflammatory bowel diseases.

Exegese: We report the case of an adolescent who presented with a dermatosis-arthritis syndrome associated to a Crohn's disease during a referring for pustulosis, erythema nodosum and fever.

[Medullar cancer of the thyroid associated with dermal mucinosis].

Introduction: Dermal mucinosis can be associated with numerous pathologies, in particular involving the thyroid, but has never been described in the case of a medullar cancer of the thyroid (MCT).

Case-report: A 69-year-old man consulted for a facial erythrosis, which had been developing for a few weeks without any identified triggering factor. The skin biopsy showed dermal mucinosis and tests revealed a sporadic medullar cancer of the thyroid with secondary bone, ganglion and medullar localizations.

[Skin signs associated with epidermal growth factor inhibitors].

Background: Inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) constitute a new alternative treatment for patients presenting certain advanced stage solid cancers (bowel, breast, ovary). Adverse cutaneous effects of these drugs are now starting to be described.

Observations: Our study involved 2 men and 2 women with no previous history of acne included in a treatment protocol comprising EGFR inhibitors.

Stochastic predation events and population persistence in bighorn sheep.

Many studies have reported temporal changes in the relative importance of density-dependence and environmental stochasticity in affecting population growth rates, but they typically assume that the predominant factor limiting growth remains constant over long periods of time. Stochastic switches in limiting factors that persist for multiple time-steps have received little attention, but most wild populations may periodically experience such switches. Here, we consider the dynamics of three populations of individually marked bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) monitored for 24-28 years.

[Ganglioneuroma revealed by complicated nephritic colic].

Introduction: Ganglioneuroma is a rare benign nervous tumour frequently located in the retroperitoneal area. We report the case of a 22-year-old female patient where this tumour was revealed by nephritic colic complicated by pyelitis and kidney abscess.

Exegesis: The patient presented with brutal feverish lumbar pains and urinary signs.

Gluten intolerance and skin diseases.

Gluten sensitivity with or without coeliac disease (CD) symptoms and intestinal pathology has been suggested as a potentially treatable cause of various diseases. CD is a chronic disease which improves on withdrawal of wheat gliadins and barley, rye and oat prolamins from the diet. There have been numerous reports linking CD with several skin conditions.

Skin metastases from unknown origin: role of immunohistochemistry in the evaluation of cutaneous metastases of carcinoma of unknown origin.

Determining the primary origin of skin metastases might be a challenging issue for pathologists, especially when there is no primary history or when this history is unavailable. The poor specificity of morphological appreciation is challenging, emphasizing the need for ancillary studies. We have retrieved 44 cases of skin metastases from our pathology files.

[Incomplete expression of PHACE (S) syndrome: facial hemangioma associated with absence of the internal carotid artery].

Introduction: Hemangiomas are the most common benign tumors in childhood. In rare cases, they can be associated with dysmorphic malformations. The acronym, the PHACE (S) syndrome, was recently described by Frieden et al.

Dermatologic manifestations of the antiphospholipid syndrome: two hundred consecutive cases.

Objective: To describe dermatologic manifestations of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and to investigate possible correlations between livedo reticularis and other APS manifestations.

Methods: We conducted a single-center study of 200 consecutive patients with primary or systemic lupus erythematosus-related APS. To qualify for the study, patients had to fulfill clinical and laboratory criteria from the most recent international consensus statement on classification of definite APS.

Circulating vascular endothelial growth factor in cutaneous malignant melanoma.

Background: Angiogenesis has been reported as a parameter of potential prognostic value in solid tumours, as it may facilitate tumour growth and metastasis. One of the most important growth factors involved in angiogenesis is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).

Objectives: To determine the predictive value of circulating VEGF levels in a cohort of patients with melanoma.

[Effects of imiquimod on latent human papillomavirus anal infection in HIV-infected patients].

Introduction: High risk human papillomaviruses (HPV) have emerged as risk factors for anal carcinoma particularly in HIV-infected patients who demonstrate a high rate of anal HPV infection. Considering the relationship between the presence of anal infection and the development of neoplastic lesions, we wished to assess the capacity of imiquimod to eradicate latent HPV infection in HIV-infected patients.

Patients And Methods: We conducted a prospective, randomized, double-blind and vehicle controlled study.

Additional conjunctival and penile pigmentation in Laugier-Hunziker syndrome: a report of two cases.

Background: Laugier-Hunziker syndrome is a rare acquired hyperpigmentation of the oral mucosa and lips which is often associated with longitudinal melanonychia. We report two patients exhibiting the classical features of Laugier-Hunziker syndrome with additional and previously unreported conjunctival and penile pigmentation.

Patients And Methods: Two patients presented with a history of progressive acquired macular pigmentation of the oral mucosa, the lips, the ocular conjunctiva and the penis.

Simultaneous stimulation of GABA and beta adrenergic receptors stabilizes isotypes of activated adenylyl cyclase heterocomplex.

Background: We investigated how the synthesis of cAMP, stimulated by isoproterenol acting through beta-adrenoreceptors and Gs, is strongly amplified by simultaneous incubation with baclofen. Baclofen is an agonist of delta-aminobutyric acid type B receptors [GABAB], known to inhibit adenylyl cyclase via Gi. Because these agents have opposite effects on cAMP levels, the unexpected increase in cAMP synthesis when they are applied simultaneously has been intensively investigated.

Minocycline-induced cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies.

Minocycline is an antibiotic widely used in the treatment of acne. Among the induced auto-immune disorders, cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is very rare. A new case is reported below.

Lipschütz genital ulceration: a rare manifestation of paratyphoid fever.

In 1913, a distinctive clinical entity of acute genital ulcer occurring in an adolescent girl with a non-venereal infectious aetiology was described by Lipschütz. Since the initial description, several aetiologies have been discussed, and among them, paratyphoid fever is very uncommon. After her return from a trip, a 25-year-old girl developed high fever and diarrhoea.

[Vascular leiomyoma of the hand. Report of a case and review of literature concerning a rare pathology].

Vascular leiomyoma is a benign painful tumour that occurs most frequently in the lower extremity. We report an uncommon case in the hand. Only surgical removal of the tumour allows establishing the diagnosis histologically.

Divergence between the high rate of p53 mutations in skin carcinomas and the low prevalence of anti-p53 antibodies.

Circulating anti-p53 antibodies have been described and used as tumoural markers in patients with various cancers and strongly correlate with the p53 mutated status of the tumours. No study has yet looked at the prevalence of such antibodies in skin carcinoma patients although these tumours have been shown to be frequently p53 mutated. Most skin carcinoma can be diagnosed by examination or biopsy, but aggressive, recurrent and/or non-surgical cases' follow up would be helped by a biological marker of residual disease.

Mortality in Quebec during the nineteenth century: from the state to the cities.

The aim of this paper is to explore mortality in Quebec during the nineteenth century from a demographic perspective. During the nineteenth century, there was excess urban mortality in various countries; in order to identify such mortality differentials, we compared mortality indicators for the province of Quebec and then for the urban areas of Montreal and Quebec City. Using data from various studies, we produced life tables and compared life expectancies.