[Primary malignant melanoma of vagina]. / Mélanome vaginal primitif.

The primary vaginal melanoma is a rare aggressive tumour with a poor prognosis. The average age at diagnosis is 60, and there are no known risk factors. The establishment of a classification system and treatment protocols are made difficult because there are so few cases. The 5-year survival rate is estimated at no more than ten per cent. We report a case of an inoperable primary vaginal melanoma in a 58-year old woman. There were metastatic lymph nodes in the lumbo-aortic region, but no extension to bone or viscera. She was treated with nivolumab as monotherapy. Clinical and radiological evolution were both favourable, and the treatment was well tolerated.

Le mélanome vaginal primitif est une tumeur rare, agressive et de mauvais pronostic. L'âge moyen lors du diagnostic est de 60 ans et les facteurs de risque sont inconnus. La rareté de cette pathologie complique l'établissement d'un système de classification et d'un protocole de prise en charge. Le taux de survie à 5 ans ne dépasse pas les 10 %. Nous présentons le cas d'une patiente de 58 ans atteinte d'un mélanome vaginal non opérable avec envahissement ganglionnaire lymphatique lombo-aortique sans métastase osseuse ou viscérale. Un traitement par nivolumab est instauré en monothérapie. L'évolution clinique et radiologique est favorable avec une tolérance au traitement satisfaisante.

Relationship between leptin content, metabolic hormones and fat deposition in three beef cattle breeds.

The aim of the study was to determine if cattle breeds differing in their carcass characteristics also differ in the profiles of their leptin and metabolic hormones. Three breeds, Belgian Blue (BB) (n=12), Limousin (L) (n=12) and Aberdeen Angus (AA) (n=12) with varying ability to deposit fat and protein were compared. Blood, muscle and subcutaneous (SC) adipose tissue were sampled. Animal performance, carcass and meat characteristics were determined as well as plasma leptin concentration, leptin gene expression in SC adipose tissue, leptin-receptor gene expression in SC adipose tissue and plasma concentration of insulin, tri-iodothyronin (T3), thyroxin (T4) and cortisol. The BB bulls showed the lowest values of leptin gene expression (P<0.05). Values of plasma leptin concentration and of leptin-receptor gene expression tended to be lower in BB than in the other breeds. For a similar amount of adipose tissue (after normalisation), BB bulls showed a higher ratio of plasma leptin (P<0.05), whereas normalised leptin gene and leptin-receptor gene expressions did not significantly differ between breeds. Belgian Blue bulls also differed in their metabolic hormone profile, tending to show lower values of insulin, T3 and T4 than the two other breeds. Cortisol levels were significantly lower (P<0.05) in BB than in L and AA animals.