Dermoscopy of haemosiderotic/aneurysmal dermatofibroma: A morphological study of 110 cases.

BACKGROUND: Haemosiderotic and aneurysmal dermatofibromas are uncommon and frequently misdiagnosed lesions, which can be considered as different histopathological stages of the same tumour. A dermoscopic diagnosis testing accuracy has not been performed for these tumours to date. OBJECTIVES: To determine the diagnostic significance of dermoscopic structures and patterns associated with haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas in a large series. METHODS: Dermoscopic images of histopathologically proven cases of 110 haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas and 501 other tumours were collected. The frequency, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the dermoscopic structures and patterns associated with these lesions were calculated. RESULTS: Haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas are mostly symmetric lesions (86.5%), and a prominent homogeneous area was present in 100% of them. The presence of vascular structures was very common (86.4%), and dotted vessels were predominant (58.2%). Shiny white structures were seen in 85.5% of lesions, while a peripheral delicate pigment network was present in 69.1%. The most significant pattern was the one composed of a prominent homogeneous area and peripheral delicate pigment network, which showed a specificity of 100% with a relatively good sensitivity (69.1%). All the patterns containing a peripheral delicate pigment network showed very good specificities, positive predictive values and negative predictive values. Those patterns without a peripheral delicate pigment network showed the highest sensitivities, but they showed a significant overlap with other tumours, mainly with melanoma. CONCLUSIONS: Dermoscopy is helpful in improving the diagnostic accuracy of haemosiderotic/ aneurysmal dermatofibromas. However, there is a considerable dermoscopic overlap between these tumours and melanoma, specifically when the peripheral delicate pigment network is absent.

The Usefulness of Dermoscopy for the Recognition of Malignant Collision Tumors.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative diagnosis of malignant collision tumors (MCT) is extremely difficult. The value of dermoscopy to improve the correct detection of these tumors has not been previously studied. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of MCT with and without dermoscopy and to describe the dermoscopic features of a large series of MCT. METHODS: Dermoscopic images of 161 MCT were evaluated. Clinical and dermoscopic images of histopathologically proven MCT intermingled with other tumors were randomly presented to clinicians with different levels of experience, blinded to the diagnosis and objective of the study. The clinical and dermoscopic diagnostic accuracies were measured separately. RESULTS: A total of 161 histopathologically proven cases of MCT were collected. The most frequent MCT was basal cell carcinoma-seborrheic keratosis collision tumor (CT; 37.9%), followed by basal cell carcinoma-melanocytic nevus CT (19.9%), and melanoma-seborrheic keratosis CT (6.8%). Diagnostic accuracy among experts on dermoscopy was 71.4%. The study included 119 participants. The percentage of correct diagnoses was 8% by naked eye examination and 36.4% by dermoscopy (p < 0.001). The presence of the malignant component in the cases of MCT was not recognizable in 19.1% of cases by naked eye examination and in 11.8% of cases by dermoscopy (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The diagnosis of MCT can be assisted and clarified by dermoscopy. However, many of these lesions manifest complex morphologies and continue to be challenging, even for experts on dermoscopy. Atypical, uncertain, or non-classifiable lesions still need a complete excision for the final diagnosis.

Dermoscopy of lipidised dermatofibroma: A morphological study of 13 cases.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological findings of lipidised dermatofibromas under dermoscopic observation. METHODS: Dermoscopic examination of 13 cases of lipidised dermatofibromas was performed to evaluate specific dermoscopic criteria and patterns. RESULTS: The most frequently occurring dermoscopic features were as follows: (i) A yellowish homogenous pigmentation in all cases (100%); this pigmentation was total in 30.7%; (ii) White structures were seen in 46.1%, most of them were central white networks (38.4%); (iii) Pigment network was observed in 53.8%, most of them were peripheral delicate pigment networks (38.4%), but two cases showed an atypical pigment network; (iv) The presence of vascular structures was common (10 cases, 77%); (v) Regarding to dermoscopic patterns, five lipidised dermatofibromas (38.4%) showed a total yellowish homogeneous pattern; 38.4% an atypical pattern and 23.2% a 'central white network + peripheral delicate pigment network' pattern. CONCLUSIONS: The dermoscopic recognition of a total yellowish homogeneous area or a yellowish colouration in the context of a dermatofibroma can be proposed to help suspecting a lipidised dermatofibroma.

CCL20 Expression by Tumor-Associated Macrophages Predicts Progression of Human Primary Cutaneous Melanoma.

The chemokine axis CCR6/CCL20 is involved in cancer progression in a variety of tumors. Here, we show that CCR6 is expressed by melanoma cells. The CCR6 ligand, CCL20, induces migration and proliferation in vitro, and enhances tumor growth and metastasis in vivo Confocal analysis of melanoma tissues showed that CCR6 is expressed by tumor cells, whereas CCL20 is preferentially expressed by nontumoral cells in the stroma of certain tumors. Stromal CCL20, but not tumoral CCR6, predicted poor survival in a cohort of 40 primary melanoma patients. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM), independently of their M1/M2 polarization profile, were identified as the main source of CCL20 in primary melanomas that developed metastasis. In addition to CCL20, TAMs expressed TNF and VEGF-A protumoral cytokines, suggesting that melanoma progression is supported by macrophages with a differential activation state. Our data highlight the synergistic interaction between melanoma tumor cells and prometastatic macrophages through a CCR6/CCL20 paracrine loop. Stromal levels of CCL20 in primary melanomas may be a clinically useful marker for assessing patient risk, making treatment decisions, and planning or analyzing clinical trials. Cancer Immunol Res; 6(3); 267-75. ©2018 AACR.

La ética en el laboratorio clínico / Ethics at Clinical Laboratory

En 2002, la Organización Mundial de la Salud efectuó su 55 Asamblea, en el centro de sus análisis estuvo la incidencia de eventos adversos que ponían en peligro la calidad de la atención de salud. Por ser una causa importante y evitable de sufrimiento humano con múltiples consecuencias, instó a sus estados miembros a prestar la mayor atención posible al problema de la seguridad del paciente(AU)...

Electrolitos en sudor / Electrolytes in Sweat

La fibrosis quística FQ es una enfermedad genética de herencia autosómica recesiva, caracterizada por la disfunción de las glándulas de secreción exocrina. Las primeras descripciones, fueron realizadas por Fanconi, en 1936, y por Andersen, en 1938. En la década de 1980 se descubre que el defecto fundamental se debe a la falla en la secreción celular de cloro. En 1985, el gen responsable del defecto se localiza en el cromosoma siete, y en 1989 se logra su aislamiento y caracterización...(AU)