Patient perceptions of nonmelanoma skin cancer before diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of data regarding patient perceptions of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). OBJECTIVE: To describe patients' perceptions of skin lesions before a diagnosis of NMSC. METHODS: This was a descriptive study in a private practice setting. Patients with a previous biopsy of NMSC who presented for treatment were eligible. A self-administered questionnaire assessed what patient perceptions of lesions diagnosed as NMSCs had been before they were aware of the diagnosis. Medical records were reviewed for tumor type, size, and location. RESULTS: One hundred sixty-three consecutive patients undergoing treatment for NMSC completed the questionnaire. The most common initial impressions of the lesion were skin cancer (20%), acne (19%), sore (10%), unknown (9%), dry skin (7%), age spot (6%), and injury (6%). Seventy-two percent of patients were the first to notice the lesion. Patients with a history of skin cancer were more likely to think the lesion was a skin cancer on initial impression (28% vs. 8%) (p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding how patients perceive their skin cancers may aid in targeting educational strategies and increase awareness of skin cancer risk. Our data suggest that there are important subtleties in self-identification that may need to be taken into consideration in any educational campaign targeting NMSC.

Outcomes of childhood hemangiomas treated with the pulsed-dye laser with dynamic cooling: a retrospective chart analysis.

BACKGROUND: Laser treatment of childhood hemangiomas remains controversial. Previous studies have used outdated technology, resulting in a potential overrepresentation of adverse outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate outcomes of hemangiomas treated with the most current laser technology. METHODS: A retrospective chart analysis of 90 patients with a median age of 3.0 months and a total of 105 hemangiomas were enrolled over a 2.5-year period. All were treated with the 595-nm long-pulse pulsed-dye laser (LP-PDL) with dynamic epidermal cooling at 2- to 8-week intervals depending on the stage of growth. Exclusion criteria were previous laser, surgical, or corticosteroid treatment. Three reviewers assessed outcomes. RESULTS: Near-complete or complete clearance in color were achieved for 85 (81%) and in thickness for 67 (64%) hemangiomas. There was no scarring or atrophy. Ulceration occurred in one case and resolved during treatment. Hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation occurred in 4% and 14% of hemangiomas, respectively. CONCLUSION: Early treatment of childhood hemangiomas with the 595-nm LP-PDL with dynamic cooling may reduce the proliferative phase and result in excellent rates of clearing and few adverse events.

Lymphedema praecox.

A 57-year-old man presented with the post-pubertal onset of asymptomatic swelling of the left arm and legs that had been complicated by recurrent bouts of cellulitis. The presentation and disease course are consistent with lymphedema praecox, which is a subtype of primary lymphedema with onset at puberty and a slowly progressive course. The subtypes of lymphedema, pathogenesis, and treatment are reviewed.

Porokeratosis palmaris et plantaris disseminata or a disseminated late-onset variant of porokeratotic eccrine ostial and dermal ductal nevus (PEODDN) with follicular involvement.

A 48-year-old woman presented with a four-year history of pruritic, hyperkeratotic, spiny papules that began on her chest and spread to her extremities, groin, palms, face, and scalp where it caused non-scarring alopecia. Histopathologic features included cornoid lamella, which is the hallmark of porokeratosis. However, the patient's constellation of findings does not meet diagnostic criteria for any of the five clinical variants of porokeratosis. Her presentation is most compatible with either porokeratosis palmaris et plantaris disseminata (PPPD), which is a rare variant of punctate porokeratosis that can involve any area of the body or late-onset porokeratotic eccrine ostial and dermal ductal nevus (PEODDN), which is a rare, benign hamartoma of the eccrine sweat glands with porokeratotic histopathologic features that has been reported to occasionally have systemic involvement. Treatment of either condition is difficult although there have been reported successes with cryotherapy, surgical excision, and CO2 laser. Since porokeratosis is a disorder of keratinization and our patient has prominent follicular involvement, isotretinoin may be another reasonable therapeutic option.

Mixed immunobullous disorder most consistent with the IgA-form of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita.

We describe a case of non-scarring, generalized, cutaneous and mucosal subepidermal bullous dermatosis that is characterized histopathologically by a neutrophilic infiltrate and strong linear staining with both IgA and IgG along the basement-membrane zone. Autoantibodies to collagen VII of both the IgA and IgG4 subtypes were detected by indirect immunofluorescence test, which led led to a diagnosis of epidermolysis bullosa aquisita (EBA). EBA is a subepidermal bullous disorder that is mediated by autoantibodies, which are directed against type VII collagen. The distinct clinical presentations of EBA are reviewed and discussed in the context of the unique autoantibody profile of this case.

Striate palmoplantar keratoderma (Brunauer-Fohs-Siemens syndrome).

A 64-year-old man presented with focal hyperkeratotic plaques on the fingers, palms, and soles. Histopathologic and electron microscopic results were consistent with striate palmoplantar keratoderma. Treatment with topical keratolytics was unsuccessful. Striate palmoplantar keratoderma or Brunauer-Fohs-Siemens syndrome is an autosomal dominant condition that presents with linear hyperkeratosis on the palms and fingers and focal plaques on the plantar aspects of the feet. Histopathologic features include hyperkeratosis, hypergranulosis, and acanthosis with no epidermolysis. Electron microscopic examination shows diminished desmosomes, clumped keratin filaments, and enlarged keratohyalin granules. The syndrome has been linked to mutations in desmoglein 1, desmoplakin, and keratin 1. Treatment may include keratolytics, oral retinoids, and surgical debridement.

Hereditary papulotranslucent acrokeratoderma.

A 79-year-old woman presented with a history of peeling of the palms and soles that began in young adulthood, with exacerbation after exposure to water. Her mother, 2 sisters, and a female maternal cousin have similar symptoms. Physical examination showed scale and hyperlinearity of the palms. Brief exposure to water initiated the development of 1-to 2-mm, translucent, white papules that were distributed diffusely on the palmar surface, with a concentration at the palmar margins and pressure points. Histopathologic examination showed an acanthotic epidermis with a central depression that was filled with compact orthokeratosis. The physical examination and histopathologic findings are consistent with a diagnosis of hereditary papulotranslucent acrokeratoderma.

Pretibial epidermolysis bullosa.

A 47-year-old Vietnamese woman presented with dystrophic fingernails and toenails that had been present since infancy. She also had developed, in the third decade, pretibial pruritus with vesicle formation and progressive localized papules and scars. Multiple family members were similarly affected. Physical examination showed lichenoid papules that coalesced into large plaques that were studded with milia over the pretibial areas and 20 nail dystrophy. A biopsy specimen showed milia-like structures and dermal fibrosis. Pretibial epidermolysis bullosa is a rare variant of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa that shows appreciable clinical overlap with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa pruginosa. Both disease subsets are characterized by the late age of onset, nail dystrophy, and predominantly pretibial pruritic lichenoid skin lesion; they are associated with glycine substitution mutations in COL7A1.

The role of T cells in cutaneous autoimmune disease.

T cells assume a fundamental function in immunosurveillance and maintenance of the cutaneous immune barrier, yet derangement of their requisite role effects a range of cutaneous autoimmune diseases with significant associated morbidity. While blistering skin diseases, such as pemphigus vulgaris (PV), pemphigus foliaceus (PF) and bullous pemphigoid (BP) are mediated by antibodies directed against autoantigens found in the skin, recent evidence has shown that T cell activation is crucial for the initiation and coordination of this humoral response. Non-blistering skin diseases, such as alopecia areata (AA), vitiligo (VL) and psoriasis (PS) are increasingly believed to be directly mediated by the activities of autoreactive T cells. Here, we examine T lymphocyte control of antibody-mediated and cell-mediated processes involved in the pathoimmunology of the above mentioned skin diseases.

Flavopiridol enhances the effect of docetaxel in vitro and in vivo in human gastric cancer cells.

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death throughout the world. It is a disease in desperate need of new therapeutic approaches. Docetaxel, a semisynthetic taxane, has shown potent activity against a broad range of solid tumors. However, in gastric cancer, response rates to docetaxel remain only approximately 20%. In these studies we show that flavopiridol, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, potentiates docetaxel-induced apoptosis 3-fold in MKN-74 human gastric cells. This effect is sequence dependent, such that flavopiridol must follow docetaxel to induce this effect. Docetaxel induces transient arrest in the M phase of the cell cycle. Cells exit mitosis in a specific time window without cytokinesis with a decrease in cyclin B1/cdc-2 kinase activity and MPM-2 labeling. Flavopiridol treatment of docetaxel-treated cells enhances the exit from mitosis with a more rapid decrease in mitotic markers including MPM-2 labeling and cyclin B1/cdc2 kinase activity. In contrast, pretreatment with flavopiridol prevents cells from entering mitosis by inhibiting cyclin B1/cdc-2 kinase activity, thus antagonizing the docetaxel effect. The testing of this combination against MKN-74 xenografts confirms the sequence dependency. Treatment of MKN-74 tumor-bearing xenografts with docetaxel at a dose of 10 mg/kg followed 3-7 h later by flavopiridol at a dose of 2.5 mg/kg resulted in a 1-18% decrease in tumor volume. In contrast, treatment with docetaxel alone at this same dose resulted in a 394% increase in tumor volume. When flavopiridol was given immediately after docetaxel, the effect was not statistically different from that of docetaxel alone. The reverse combination of flavopiridol followed 7 h later by docetaxel was similar to treatment with docetaxel alone. Flavopiridol alone had no effect in this tumor model. Thus, flavopiridol, when combined with docetaxel in a sequence-specific manner, may provide a completely new therapeutic approach in the treatment of gastric cancer.