Home-based narrowband UVB, topical corticosteroid or combination for children and adults with vitiligo: HI-Light Vitiligo three-arm RCT.

Background: Systematic reviews suggest that narrowband ultraviolet B light combined with treatments such as topical corticosteroids may be more effective than monotherapy for vitiligo.

Objective: To explore the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of topical corticosteroid monotherapy compared with (1) hand-held narrowband ultraviolet B light monotherapy and (2) hand-held narrowband ultraviolet B light/topical corticosteroid combination treatment for localised vitiligo.

Design: Pragmatic, three-arm, randomised controlled trial with 9 months of treatment and a 12-month follow-up.

Ultrasound, CT, MRI, or PET-CT for staging and re-staging of adults with cutaneous melanoma.

Background: Melanoma is one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer, with the potential to metastasise to other parts of the body via the lymphatic system and the bloodstream. Melanoma accounts for a small percentage of skin cancer cases but is responsible for the majority of skin cancer deaths. Various imaging tests can be used with the aim of detecting metastatic spread of disease following a primary diagnosis of melanoma (primary staging) or on clinical suspicion of disease recurrence (re-staging).

Mistaken identity: misclassification of TPMT phenotype following blood transfusion.

Azathioprine (AZA) is an effective treatment for inflammatory bowel disease. The measurement of thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) activity levels helps to identify the one in 300 patients who are at risk of profound myelosuppression with standard doses of AZA. Thus, it is important that the measurement of TPMT activity is accurate.