Histopathological evolution of a cutaneous myxofibrosarcoma.

A 54-year-old woman presented with a 6-month history of a tender and swollen plaque appearing as a panniculitis affecting the left pretibial area. The initial histopathology revealed dermal and subcutaneous inflammation with interstitial histiocytes and mucinosis suggestive of either granuloma annulare or necrobiosis lipoidica. Over the subsequent 6 months the plaque grew progressively, despite treatment with topical corticosteroids under occlusion.

Alopecia areata masquerading as frontal fibrosing alopecia.

SUMMARY Postmenopausal women with frontal recession may represent a diagnostic challenge, as frontal fibrosing alopecia and alopecia areata may be clinically difficult to distinguish. A 53-year-old postmenopausal woman presented with a progressive fronto-temporal marginal alopecia with sparing of her eyebrows. Scalp biopsy of the affected frontal hairline revealed peribulbar lymphocytic inflammation, but no evidence of lichenoid inflammation, perifollicular fibrosis or scarring.

p14ARF protein expression is a predictor of both relapse and survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior tongue.

Purpose: The INK4A-ARF locus at chromosome 9p21 is frequently altered in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and encodes two distinct tumor suppressors, p16(INK4A) and p14(ARF). This study addressed the role of p14(ARF) as a potential prognostic marker in this disease.

Experimental Design: p14(ARF) protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 140 patients with SCC of the anterior tongue.

Deregulated cyclin D1 expression is associated with decreased efficacy of the selective epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines.

Purpose: Despite promising initial results, recent Phase III trials of the selective epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor gefitinib ("Iressa"; AstraZeneca, Wilmington, Delaware) in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have been equivocal. Cyclin D1, an EGFR target gene, is frequently overexpressed in HNSCC, has been implicated in its pathogenesis, and is strongly associated with poor prognosis in this disease. Therefore, we examined the relationship between deregulated cyclin D1 expression and sensitivity to gefitinib to determine whether this frequently occurring oncogenic change affected the cellular response to gefitinib.

Overexpression of E2F-1 is associated with increased disease-free survival in squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior tongue.

Purpose: Overexpression of E2F-1 is associated with increased invasiveness in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cell lines in vitro, but its significance in vivo is unknown. This study sought to determine the relationship between E2F-1 and retinoblastoma protein (pRb) expression and disease outcome in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the anterior tongue.

Experimental Design: pRb and E2F-1 protein expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in a cohort of 145 patients with SCC of the anterior tongue.