Management of hidradenitis suppurativa in pregnancy.

Hidradenitis suppurativa is a debilitating inflammatory skin disease with a chronic course and often disappointing response to treatment. Though a minority of persons (20%) reports symptom remission during pregnancy, the vast majority experiences no relief (72%), and few experience clinical deterioration (8%). Disease flares are also observed post-partum. The pathophysiological basis for pregnancy-associated fluctuations in clinical status is currently unknown. Because most women with HS require ongoing management throughout pregnancy, it is important to evaluate the suitability and safety of current treatment options for pregnant women. The following review will outline current management strategies for HS and their compatibility with pregnancy and lactation.

(18)F-FDG PET/CT and Melanoma: Staging, Immune Modulation and Mutation-Targeted Therapy Assessment, and Prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: Monoclonal antibodies that target the programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint protein and its associated ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, and targeted inhibitors of mutated signal transduction molecules such as BRAF inhibitors show immense promise in treating patients with melanoma. We discuss the use of (18)F-FDG PET/CT for assessing therapy effectiveness, staging advanced disease, and determining prognosis of patients with melanoma. CONCLUSION: FDG PET/CT is useful in staging disease, assessing therapy, and determining prognosis in patients with melanoma.

An Ode to Kodachrome: The Color Film That Transformed Dermatologic Medical Education.

Importance: From its debut in 1935 until its discontinuation in 2009, Eastman Kodak Company's Kodachrome color reversal film was a cornerstone for dermatologic teaching innovations that transformed 20th century medical education. This Special Communication examines Kodachrome's contributions to the field of dermatology, as well as its lessons for improving inclusive representation of patients of all skin tones in 21st century dermatologic curricula. Observations: Kodachrome's color quality, its slide transparency format, and its broad commercial availability democratized the creation, sharing, and teaching of visual information about skin disease in the 20th century. Kodachrome's usefulness as a complement to bedside teaching modernized medical school curricula, dermatologic conferences, and the American Board of Dermatology certifying examination, which inspired the Kodachrome-style of didactic that remains central to dermatologic training programs today. However, Kodachrome film was also the product of a prejudiced era when color film technology and photographic best practices were optimized for white skin. These biases are still evident in industry standards, photographic techniques, and the historically unjust representation of skin of color in educational resources. Conclusions and Relevance: Kodachrome film contributed substantially to shaping 20th-century medical education; however, its legacy is a reminder that diverse and inclusive image representation in dermatologic curricula is vital to counteracting implicit biases, correcting assumptions about disease epidemiology, and providing high-quality care for patients of all skin tones. Historical biases that have harmed representations of racial and ethnic minorities in dermatologic curricula are being addressed through improvements in digital photographic technologies, photographic best practices that serve a broader range of skin tones, inclusive skin color representation in contemporary educational resources, and skin-of-color specific curriculum for learners.

Developing an Improved Statistical Approach for Survival Estimation in Bone Metastases Management: The Bone Metastases Ensemble Trees for Survival (BMETS) Model.

PURPOSE: To determine whether a machine learning approach optimizes survival estimation for patients with symptomatic bone metastases (SBM), we developed the Bone Metastases Ensemble Trees for Survival (BMETS) to predict survival using 27 prognostic covariates. To establish its relative clinical utility, we compared BMETS with 2 simpler Cox regression models used in this setting. METHODS AND MATERIALS: For 492 bone sites in 397 patients evaluated for palliative radiation therapy (RT) for SBM from January 2007 to January 2013, data for 27 clinical variables were collected. These covariates and the primary outcome of time from consultation to death were used to build BMETS using random survival forests. We then performed Cox regressions as per 2 validated models: Chow's 3-item (C-3) and Westhoff's 2-item (W-2) tools. Model performance was assessed using cross-validation procedures and measured by time-dependent area under the curve (tAUC) for all 3 models. For temporal validation, a separate data set comprised of 104 bone sites treated in 85 patients in 2018 was used to estimate tAUC from BMETS. RESULTS: Median survival was 6.4 months. Variable importance was greatest for performance status, blood cell counts, recent systemic therapy type, and receipt of concurrent nonbone palliative RT. tAUC at 3, 6, and 12 months was 0.83, 0.81, and 0.81, respectively, suggesting excellent discrimination of BMETS across postconsultation time points. BMETS outperformed simpler models at each time, with respective tAUC at each time of 0.78, 0.76, and 0.74 for the C-3 model and 0.80, 0.78, and 0.77 for the W-2 model. For the temporal validation set, respective tAUC was similarly high at 0.86, 0.82, and 0.78. CONCLUSIONS: For patients with SBM, BMETS improved survival predictions versus simpler traditional models. Model performance was maintained when applied to a temporal validation set. To facilitate clinical use, we developed a web platform for data entry and display of BMETS-predicted survival probabilities.

Immunosuppressive Mechanisms of Malignant Gliomas: Parallels at Non-CNS Sites.

The central nervous system (CNS) possesses powerful local and global immunosuppressive capabilities that modulate unwanted inflammatory reactions in nervous tissue. These same immune-modulatory mechanisms are also co-opted by malignant brain tumors and pose a formidable challenge to brain tumor immunotherapy. Routes by which malignant gliomas coordinate immunosuppression include the mechanical and functional barriers of the CNS; immunosuppressive cytokines and catabolites; immune checkpoint molecules; tumor-infiltrating immune cells; and suppressor immune cells. The challenges to overcoming tumor-induced immunosuppression, however, are not unique to the brain, and several analogous immunosuppressive mechanisms also exist for primary tumors outside of the CNS. Ultimately, the immune responses in the CNS are linked and complementary to immune processes in the periphery, and advances in tumor immunotherapy in peripheral sites may therefore illuminate novel approaches to brain tumor immunotherapy, and vice versa.

Promoters of and barriers to cervical cancer screening in a rural setting in Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate promoters and barriers for cervical cancer screening in rural Tanzania. METHODS: We interviewed 300 women of reproductive age living in Kiwangwa village, Tanzania. The odds of attending a free, 2-day screening service were compared with sociodemographic variables, lifestyle factors, and knowledge and attitudes surrounding cervical cancer using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Compared with women who did not attend the screening service (n=195), women who attended (n=105) were older (OR 4.29; 95% CI, 1.61-11.48, age 40-49years versus 20-29years), listened regularly to the radio (OR 24.76; 95% CI, 11.49-53.33, listened to radio 1-3 times per week versus not at all), had a poorer quality of life (OR 4.91; CI, 1.96-12.32, lowest versus highest score), had faced cost barriers to obtaining health care in the preceding year (OR 2.24; 95% CI, 1.11-4.53, yes versus no), and held a more positive attitude toward cervical cancer screening (OR 4.64; 95% CI, 1.39-15.55, least versus most averse). CONCLUSION: Efforts aimed at improving screening rates in rural Tanzania need to address both structural and individual-level barriers, including knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer prevention, cost barriers to care, and access to health information.