Narrow excision margins are appropriate for Merkel cell carcinoma when combined with adjuvant radiation: Analysis of 188 cases of localized disease and proposed management algorithm.

Background: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) management typically includes surgery with or without adjuvant radiation therapy (aRT). Major challenges include determining surgical margin size and whether aRT is indicated.

Objective: To assess the association of aRT, surgical margin size, and MCC local recurrence.

Postoperative radiation therapy is associated with a reduced risk of local recurrence among low risk Merkel cell carcinomas of the head and neck.

Purpose: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and often aggressive skin cancer. Typically, surgery is the primary treatment. Postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) is often recommended to improve local control.

Management of High-Risk Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin.

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common malignancy in the USA, with cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) constituting approximately 20 % of all NMSC. While cSCCs typically behave in an indolent fashion and can be cured with local destructive or surgical methods, a small subset metastasizes and induces significant morbidity and mortality. Identifying and aggressively treating these "high-risk" cSCCs (HRcSCCs) is thus paramount.

Screening, early detection, education, and trends for melanoma: current status (2007-2013) and future directions: Part II. Screening, education, and future directions.

New evidence has accumulated over the past several years that supports improved melanoma outcomes associated with both clinician and patient screening. Population-based and workplace studies conducted in Australia and the Unites States, respectively, have shown decreases in the incidence of thick melanoma and overall melanoma mortality, and a year-long statewide screening program in Germany has shown a nearly 50% reduction in mortality 5 years after the screening ended. Current melanoma screening guidelines in the United States are inconsistent among various organizations, and therefore rates of both physician and patient skin examinations are low.

Screening, early detection, education, and trends for melanoma: current status (2007-2013) and future directions: Part I. Epidemiology, high-risk groups, clinical strategies, and diagnostic technology.

While most cancers have shown both decreased incidence and mortality over the past several decades, the incidence of melanoma has continued to grow, and mortality has only recently stabilized in the United States and in many other countries. Certain populations, such as men >60 years of age and lower socioeconomic status groups, face a greater burden from disease. For any given stage and across all ages, men have shown worse melanoma survival than women, and low socioeconomic status groups have increased levels of mortality.

Open-label, exploratory phase II trial of oral itraconazole for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: Itraconazole, a US Food and Drug Administration-approved antifungal drug, inhibits the Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway, a crucial driver of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) tumorigenesis, and reduces BCC growth in mice. We assessed the effect of itraconazole on the HH pathway and on tumor size in human BCC tumors.

Patients And Methods: Patients with ≥ one BCC tumor > 4 mm in diameter were enrolled onto two cohorts to receive oral itraconazole 200 mg twice per day for 1 month (cohort A) or 100 mg twice per day for an average of 2.

Eczema and sensitization to common allergens in the United States: a multiethnic, population-based study.

The relationship between food and environmental allergens in contributing to eczema risk is unclear on a multiethnic population level. Our purpose was to determine whether sensitization to specific dietary and environmental allergens as measured according to higher specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels is associated with eczema risk in children. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey participants ages 1 to 17 years were asked whether they had ever received a diagnosis of eczema from a physician (n = 538).

Vitamin D in cutaneous carcinogenesis: part I.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is a known risk factor for skin cancer but is also the principal means by which the body obtains vitamin D. Several studies have suggested that vitamin D plays a protective role in a variety of internal malignancies.

Calcium plus vitamin D supplementation and the risk of nonmelanoma and melanoma skin cancer: post hoc analyses of the women's health initiative randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: In light of inverse relationships reported in observational studies of vitamin D intake and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels with risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and melanoma, we evaluated the effects of vitamin D combined with calcium supplementation on skin cancer in a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Methods: Postmenopausal women age 50 to 79 years (N = 36,282) enrolled onto the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) calcium/vitamin D clinical trial were randomly assigned to receive 1,000 mg of elemental calcium plus 400 IU of vitamin D3 (CaD) daily or placebo for a mean follow-up period of 7.0 years.

Hat, shade, long sleeves, or sunscreen? Rethinking US sun protection messages based on their relative effectiveness.

Background: Sun protection messages in the United States emphasize sunscreen use, although its efficacy in skin cancer prevention remains controversial.

Methods: We used data from NHANES 2003-2006, restricted to adult whites (n = 3,052) to evaluate how Americans protect themselves from the sun. Participants completed questionnaires on the frequency with which they used sunscreen, wore a hat, long sleeves, or stayed in the shade, in addition to the number of sunburns in the past year.

Genotype-phenotype correlations among pachyonychia congenita patients with K16 mutations.

Pachyonychia congenita (PC) is a rare, autosomal dominant keratin disorder caused by mutations in four genes (KRT6A, KRT6B, KRT16, or KRT17). The International PC Research Registry is a database with information on patients' symptoms as well as genotypes. We sought to describe the heterogeneity of clinical symptoms and to investigate possible genotype-phenotype correlations in patients with two types of K16 mutations, p.

Association of facial skin aging and vitamin D levels in middle-aged white women.

To investigate the relationship between UV-induced skin photodamage and 25(OH) vitamin D levels, we performed a cross-sectional study in 45 female subjects aged >40. Menopausal status, smoking status, skin cancer history, oral supplement use, and season of blood draw were recorded and serum 25(OH)D measured. A single-blinded, dermatologist evaluated standardized digital facial images for overall photodamage, erythema/telangiectasias, hyperpigmentation, number of lentigines, and wrinkling.

Detection of isolated tumor cells in neuroblastoma by immunohistochemical analysis in bone marrow biopsy specimens: improved detection with use of beta-catenin.

Evaluation of the bone marrow is a critical component of accurate staging and surveillance for recurrent disease in neuroblastoma. The value of routine immunohistochemical analysis of otherwise histologically negative bone marrow biopsy specimens has not been adequately evaluated. By using synaptophysin, chromogranin, and beta-catenin, immunohistochemical analysis performed on otherwise histologically negative bone marrow specimens identified isolated tumor cells (ITCs) in 9.

Reduced expression of biomarkers associated with the implantation window in women with endometriosis.

Objective: To evaluate the expression of biomarkers of implantation, glycodelin A (GdA), osteopontin (OPN), lysophosphatidic acid receptor 3 (LPA3), and HOXA10, in eutopic endometrium of women with and without endometriosis.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Setting: Clinical research center.

Minor elective surgical procedures using general anesthesia in children with sickle cell anemia without pre-operative blood transfusion.

Background: Pre-operative red blood cell (RBC) transfusions are often recommended for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) who require elective surgery under general anesthesia. However, definitive randomized studies demonstrating the benefit of transfusions in this setting have not been conducted. In particular, the merits of transfusion prior to minor or low-risk surgical procedures in children with SCD have not been demonstrated.