Permanent Alopecia in Breast Cancer Patients: Role of Taxanes and Endocrine Therapies.

Permanent chemotherapy-induced alopecia (PCIA) has been described following high-dose chemotherapy regimens for allogeneic bone marrow transplants; however, reports of PCIA in breast cancer patients are increasing. Many prior reports involve treatment with taxanes, but the role of endocrine therapies has not been well defined. Permanent alopecia in breast cancer patients appears to be a potential adverse effect of taxanes and endocrine therapies.

Anetoderma in a patient with a history of primary syphilis.

Anetoderma is a rare cutaneous disorder presenting with atrophic skin lesions. It can be associated with several autoimmune and infectious diseases. With the current resurgence of syphilis, clinicians must be aware of its association with anetoderma.

COX-2 inhibition prevents the appearance of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas accelerated by BRAF inhibitors.

Keratoacanthomas (KAs) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cuSCCs) develop in 15-30% of patients with BRAF(V600E) metastatic melanoma treated with BRAF inhibitors (BRAFi). These lesions resemble mouse skin tumors induced by the two-stage DMBA/TPA skin carcinogenesis protocol; in this protocol BRAFi accelerates tumor induction. Since prior studies demonstrated cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) is necessary for DMBA/TPA tumor induction, we hypothesized that COX-2 inhibition might prevent BRAFi-accelerated skin tumors.

An unusual presentation and distribution of generalized eruptive syringomas.

A 19-year-old Caucasian man presented with numerous erythematous to flesh-colored papules that appeared in crops on his neck, axillae, buttocks, and lower back. The lesions started on his anterior neck at age 12. At 18 years, new crops of papules appeared on his axillae, back, and buttocks over several months.

Acute graft-versus-host disease after pediatric solid organ transplant.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a rare and life threatening complication after solid organ transplantation. The diagnosis can be made with clinical and laboratory evidence of skin, liver, or intestinal involvement. The role of skin biopsy in confirming acute GVHD is debatable.

Cutaneous side effects of epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors: clinical presentation, pathogenesis, and management.

The growing investigation and use of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors in anticancer therapy has been motivated by their specificity for EGFR, which improves their ability to target cancer cells and enhances their safety profile compared with many other conventional chemotherapeutic agents. However, their growing use has been accompanied by an increasing incidence of cutaneous toxicities, which can cause serious discomfort and be disabling. This review illustrates the common cutaneous side effects seen in patients receiving EGFR inhibitors and discusses various options for management.

Inhibitory and excitatory responses of single neurons in the human medial temporal lobe during recognition of faces and objects.

The medial temporal lobe (MTL) plays a critical role in transforming complex stimuli into permanent memory traces, yet little is known on how the activity of neurons in the human brain mediates this process. Recording from single neurons in the human MTL during visual encoding and retrieval of faces and objects, we found that in the hippocampus faces evoked predominantly suppression of neuronal firing below prestimulus baseline ('inhibitory responses'). These responses were also prevalent in the entorhinal cortex but were absent in the amygdala during the first second of stimulus encoding when all responses to faces were 'excitatory' (neuronal firing increased above the prestimulus baseline).