Evaluation of electrochemotherapy in the management of apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinomas in dogs: A retrospective study.

Background: Electrochemotherapy (ECT) combines the administration of anticancer drugs with the delivery of electric pulses, thus increasing the drug uptake through the cell membranes, resulting in increased efficacy. Aim: The aim of our study was to describe the tolerability and efficacy of ECT alone or in association with other treatment modalities for the management of apocrine gland anal sac adenocarcinoma (AGASAC). Methods: Medical records of dogs with a diagnosis of AGASAC that were treated with ECT alone or in combination with surgery/chemotherapy were retrospectively evaluated. Each dog received 20 mg/m2 of bleomycin intravenously. Based on the clinician's decision, the primary tumor or tumor bed was also infiltrated with cisplatin at the dose of 0.5 mg/cm2. Trains of permeabilizing biphasic electric pulses were then applied under general anesthesia. Results: Ten dogs were enrolled in the study. Of those 10 dogs, only one received ECT for treatment of microscopic local disease, while in six cases ECT was the only treatment modality. In three dogs, ECT was followed by systemic medical treatment. Six dogs (60%) had a partial response (PR), three dogs (30%) had stable disease, and one dog treated for microscopic disease did not show any sign of local relapse for 305 days after treatment, being still alive and in complete remission at the time of writing this article. The median time to progression was 303 days and the median survival time was 365 days. The treatment was well tolerated and local side effects were minimal. No systemic effects were documented. Conclusion: This preliminary study suggests that ECT may be beneficial for dogs with AGASAC and could be a useful addition to the current therapeutic options in consideration of its low cost, limited toxicity, and ease of administration.

Uso de los corticoides sistémicos en el tratamiento de la hidradenitis supurativa moderada-grave / Systemic Steroids in the Management of Moderate-to-severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa

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The Treatment of Axillary Odor: A Network Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND Axillary osmidrosis (AO) is common in plastic surgery. But there is no perfect way to treat AO. We systematically compared the efficacy of 10 AO treatments with network meta-analysis in order to provide reference for the clinical treatment of axillary odor. MATERIAL AND METHODS Chinese and English databases were searched by computer. Some relevant studies were collected for network meta-analysis. RESULTS We identified 56 studies, including a total of 8618 patients for meta-analysis. The network meta-analysis showed that 21 out of 45 pairs of 10 AO treatments had no statistical significance. In statistical comparison, subcutaneous curettage and swelling suction subcutaneous pruning were better than a single treatment. In addition, the effects of both laser and electric ion therapy were inferior to those of other treatments. The order of therapeutic effects predicted by surface under the cumulative ranking (SUCRA), curve was swelling aspiration+subcutaneous pruning >subcutaneous pruning >subcutaneous curettage+subcutaneous pruning >spindle excision >botulinum toxin A injection >swelling aspiration >subcutaneous curettage >YAG laser therapy >CO2 laser therapy >electric ion therapy. CONCLUSIONS In operative treatment of AO, swelling aspiration+subcutaneous pruning is the best operative treatment, and botulinum toxin A injection is the best in non-operative treatment. Overall, the effect of surgical treatment was more significant than that of non-surgical treatment.

Androgen deprivation by adrenal suppression using low-dose hydrocortisone for the treatment of breast carcinoma with apocrine features: a case report illustrating this new paradigm.

We report on a postmenopausal patient with a secondary metastatic apocrine breast cancer successfully treated with low-dose hydrocortisone only following several lines of chemotherapy. The tumor cells in the primary and metastatic lesion exhibited a 'triple-negative' status (estrogen receptor (ER)-, progesterone receptor (PR)-, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative); the androgen receptor (AR) was strongly expressed. Twenty milligrams of hydrocortisone, a low substitution dose known to suppress adrenal steroid production, twice daily led to a clinical benefit lasting for one year, with symptom control, radiologically stable disease, and steady decrease in CA15.3. Our observation demonstrates that an AR-expressing apocrine breast cancer may respond to androgen deprivation, as an ER-positive breast cancer may benefit from estrogen deprivation. It highlights the importance of further research targeting the AR pathway in apocrine carcinoma, for which androgens represent the sole (known) steroid hormone stimulating tumor growth. Future clinical trials should not only focus on AR inhibitors like enzalutamide, but also on ablative modalities like low-dose hydrocortisone aiming at medical adrenalectomy. This method of androgen deprivation is largely available, cheap, and nearly devoid of toxicity.

Local injection of botulinum toxin A: an alternative therapy for axillary osmidrosis.

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of local injection of botulinum toxin A for treating axillary osmidrosis. One hundred and fifty patients with axillary osmidrosis were randomly divided to receive botulinum toxin A injection treatment (50 U of botulinum toxin A was injected intracutaneously into 6-20 different sites within each axilla, n = 74) or surgical excision of the apocrine glands (n = 76). The patients were followed up for 1-3 months to analyze the therapeutic effect and complications of the two methods. The curative effect in patients with mild and moderate axillary osmidrosis was not significantly different between the botulinum toxin A injection group and operation group. However, for patients with severe axillary osmidrosis, surgery treatment seemed to be superior to botulinum toxin A treatment (P = 0.005). There was also no significant difference in the modified Dermatology Life Quality Index between the two treatments. Two cases showed complications related to hemorrhage and incision infection in the operation group. In conclusion, local injection of botulinum toxin A is a safe, fast and effective treatment for mild and moderate axillary osmidrosis, but the long-term effect remains to be further investigated.

Bromhidrosis induced by sphingomonas paucimobilis: a case report.

Bromhidrosis is a clinical disorder characterized by excessive or abnormal foul axillary odour due to the interaction of apocrine glands with micro-organisms which causes a serious personal and social handicap for affected people. We present the case of a 50-year-old caucasian female with bromhidrosis. The patient referred that this symptom had begun two months previously. Her past treatments included antibacterial soap, topical antibacterial agents and perfumes, but none of these relieved the patient of the odour. A cultural examination of axillary smear was carried out and it revealed the presence of ciprofloxacin sensible Sphingomonas paucimobilis. Therefore the patient was treated with ciprofloxacin and after 1 week the infection resolved completely.

Treatment of multiple apocrine hidrocystomas with trichloroacetic acid.

The apocrine hidrocystoma is a benign adenomatous cystic proliferation derived from apocrine glands, which frequently occurs in periocular tissues. These cystadenomas may occur bilaterally, in multiple disfiguring confluent groups on both the upper and lower lids. Although these lesions have been treated successfully with meticulous surgical extirpation and electrosurgery, this report describes the successful treatment of two patients, each with multiple large (>7 mm) periocular apocrine hidrocystomas by either chemical ablation of the cystic epithelium with trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or surgical excision. Examination of the cysts at 1, 3, and 6 months after TCA treatment revealed well-healed lesions without cyst recurrence. Most of the TCA-treated cysts resolved completely, without leaving any trace to clinical examination. Treatment of cysts with TCA was technically simpler and much less time-consuming than surgical excision. The treatment of large apocrine hidrocystomas with TCA is an effective and expeditious method of treating these disfiguring and recalcitrant lesions.