Skin Cancer Microenvironment: What We Can Learn from Skin Aging?

Aging is a natural intrinsic process associated with the loss of fibrous tissue, a slower cell turnover, and a reduction in immune system competence. In the skin, the continuous exposition of environmental factors superimposes extrinsic damage, mainly due to ultraviolet radiation causing photoaging. Although not usually considered a pathogenic event, photoaging affects cutaneous biology, increasing the risk of skin carcinogenesis.

Correction to: Actinic keratoses: when and how to treat a single lesion.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.23736/S0392-0488.18.

A Single Center Retrospective Review of Patients from Central Italy Tested for Melanoma Predisposition Genes.

Background: Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) is one of the most common skin cancers worldwide. CMM pathogenesis involves genetic and environmental factors. Recent studies have led to the identification of new genes involved in CMM susceptibility: beyond CDKN2A and CDK4, BAP1, POT1, and MITF were recently identified as potential high-risk melanoma susceptibility genes.

Clinical management of very small pigmented lesions: Improved clinical outcome through dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy combination.

Introduction: Small-sized pigmented lesions (SSPL) <3 mm in diameter are common pitfall in the daily dermatology practice. Dermoscopy alone is hampered by the lack of specific features inversely proportional to the diameter of the lesions and its performance is highly operator-dependent. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) has been demonstrated to be effective in the diagnosis of several difficult lesions where dermoscopy lacks to provide conclusive information.

Enlarging melanocytic lesions with peripheral globular pattern: a dermoscopic and confocal microscopy study.

Background: Enlarging melanocytic lesions with peripheral globular pattern (EMLPGP) are a pitfall in dermoscopy. Our aim was to evaluate the meaning of EMLPGP and to assess the use of dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in order to improve the clinical management of this subtype of melanocytic lesions.

Methods: A total of 135 EMLPGP were recruited and, accordingly to the dermoscopy features, were removed; later, an expert dermoscopist reviewed the lesions blinded to histology.

Daylight photodynamic therapy: experience in the treatment of actinic keratosis in the San Gallicano Institute (Rome) and a review of literature.

Background: Actinic keratosis (AK) is a photo-induced skin lesion. It has been considered by several authors as in-situ squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), that can evolve to invasive SCC (iSCC). Given the malignant potential and because it is impossible predict which AK will evolve in iSCC, it is necessary to treat each lesion.

Lentigo maligna of the face: A quantitative simple method to identify individual patient risk probability on dermoscopy.

Background/objectives: The clinical and dermoscopic differential diagnosis of flat pigmented facial lesions represents a great challenge for the clinicians. Our aim was to report a quantitative method based on dermoscopic features to better classify pigmented facial lesions.

Methods: This is a retrospective case-series study that analysed the dermoscopic features of 582 pigmented facial lesions.

Clinical features predicting identification of CDKN2A mutations in Italian patients with familial cutaneous melanoma.

CDKN2A is the most common, most penetrant gene whom germline mutations predisposing to cutaneous familial melanoma (FAM). Multiple primary melanoma (MPM), early age at onset, >2 affected members and pancreatic cancer are consistent features predicting positive test. However, the impact that cumulative clinical features have on the likelihood of molecular testing is unknown.

Dermoscopy of pigmented lesions of the vulva: a retrospective morphological study.

Background: The dermoscopic patterns of pigmented skin tumors are influenced by the body site.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical and dermoscopic features associated with pigmented vulvar lesions.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical and dermoscopic images of vulvar lesions.

Dermoscopy of patients with multiple nevi: Improved management recommendations using a comparative diagnostic approach.

Objective: To assess the outcome on management recommendations of a comparative approach vs a morphologic approach in evaluating dermoscopic images of lesions from a series of patients with multiple nevi.

Design: In a 2-step study, 6 experienced dermoscopists were asked to provide management recommendations (excision or follow-up) for a series of lesions from patients with multiple nevi based on dermoscopic images of the lesions. In the first step, participating dermoscopists evaluated individual images of lesions based only on morphologic structure (morphologic approach).

Comparing in vivo reflectance confocal microscopy, dermoscopy, and histology of clear-cell acanthoma.

Background: Clear cell acanthoma (CCA) is a rare, benign neoplasm of unknown etiology, whose dermoscopic and histological features have been previously described. Usually, CCA can be diagnosed by clinical and dermoscopic examination. In some cases, diagnosis remains uncertain, and histological examination is needed.

Eccrine poroma: a clinical-dermoscopic study of seven cases.

Eccrine poroma can mimic benign and malignant melanocytic and non-melanocytic lesions. To date, little is known about the dermoscopic features of this condition. Seven histopathologically proven cases of eccrine poroma were examined using dermoscopy by three independent dermatologists.

Giant and large basal cell carcinoma treated with topical photodynamic therapy.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common cancer affecting Caucasians and, due to its large size or to the poor condition of the patient, it can be difficult to treat it with conventional therapies: in these cases photodynamic therapy with methyl aminolevulinate (MAL-PDT) may represent a good option. A retrospective non-comparative follow-up study was performed to test the response of giant and large BCC to MAL-PDT. Twelve patients with 14 giant BCC (> or = 5 cm) and 5 patients with 5 large BCC (4-5 cm) were treated with MAL-PDT; they were evaluated 6 months after the end of the treatment to define the initial cure rate, and then at 12 and 36 months for the follow-up.

The ringlike pattern in vulvar melanosis: a new dermoscopic clue for diagnosis.

Background: Vulvar melanosis is a benign pigmented lesion that may clinically mimic melanoma. Whereas the dermoscopic features of other pigmented skin lesions have been extensively described, little is known about vulvar melanosis.

Observations: A retrospective dermoscopic study was conducted on 87 lesions with histopathologically proved melanosis.

Vulvar melanoma: a report of 10 cases and review of the literature.

Despite its low incidence, vulvar melanoma carries a poor prognosis and shows a high tendency to metastasize because the diagnosis is often delayed. Although it is very well known that ultraviolet radiation is an important aetiological factor for cutaneous melanomas in adults, this cannot be considered true for vulvar melanoma. Chronic inflammatory disease, viral infections, irritant agents are the main factors suspected to induce mucosal melanoma.

Malignant melanoma and pregnancy.

The occurrence of cancer in pregnant women is not a common phenomenon and the real incidence of malignant melanoma during this period is unknown. Many authors reported a poor prognosis in pregnant women with melanoma compared with non-pregnant women's tumour. Several retrospective reviews reported a worsened prognosis in pregnant women with melanoma and found that progesterone and oestrogen receptors can be detected in melanoma tissue.