Development of a Novel Red Clay-Based Drug Delivery Carrier to Improve the Therapeutic Efficacy of Acyclovir in the Treatment of Skin Cancer.

Acyclovir (ACV) is a promising candidate for drug repurposing because of its potential to provide an effective treatment for viral infections and non-viral diseases, such as cancer, for which limited treatment options exist. However, its poor physicochemical properties limit its application. This study aimed to formulate and evaluate an ACV-loaded red clay nanodrug delivery system exhibiting an effective cytotoxicity. The study focused on the preparation of a complex between ACV and red clay (RC) using sucrose stearate (SS) (nanocomplex F1) as an immediate-release drug-delivery system for melanoma treatment. The synthesized nanocomplex, which had nanosized dimensions, a negative zeta potential and the drug release of approximately 85% after 3 h, was found to be promising. Characterization techniques, including FT-IR, XRD and DSC-TGA, confirmed the effective encapsulation of ACV within the nanocomplex and its stability due to intercalation. Cytotoxicity experiments conducted on melanoma cancer cell lines SK-MEL-3 revealed that the ACV release from the nanocomplex formulation F1 effectively inhibited the growth of melanoma cancer cells, with an IC50 of 25 ± 0.09 µg/mL. Additionally, ACV demonstrated a significant cytotoxicity at approximately 20 µg/mL in the melanoma cancer cell line, indicating its potential repurposing for skin cancer treatment. Based on these findings, it can be suggested that the RC-SS complex could be an effective drug delivery carrier for localized cancer therapy. Furthermore, the results of an in silico study suggested the addition of chitosan to the formulation for a more effective drug delivery. Energy and interaction analyses using various modules in a material studio demonstrated the high stability of the composite comprising red clay, sucrose stearate, chitosan and ACV. Thus, it could be concluded that the utilization of the red clay-based drug delivery system is a promising strategy to improve the effectiveness of targeted cancer therapy.

Epididymal germinoma: Reality or myth?

Epididymal tumours are rare, but definite pathological entity. Most tumours are benign, however, malignant lesions have also been reported. The common benign tumours are either leiomyomas or adenomatoid tumours. Malignant pathologies include primary epididymal adenocarcinoma, liposarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, mesothelioma and lymphoma. We present a case of a 45-year-old male referred urgently for suspected scrotal mass which on ultrasonography showed a lesion in the left epididymal head (possible granuloma).

Borderline ovarian mucinous neoplasm recurring as small cell carcinoma of hypercalcemic type: evidence for an epithelial histogenesis and relationship with ovarian mucinous tumors for this enigmatic neoplasm.

Ovarian small cell carcinoma of hypercalcemic type (OSCCHT) is an uncommon neoplasm of uncertain histogenesis. As far as we are aware, this neoplasm has never been reported in association with another primary ovarian tumor. We report a case in a 33-year-old patient in whom an extraovarian pericolonic neoplasm with the morphological features and immunohistochemical profile of OSCCHT developed 5 years after removal of an ovarian mucinous borderline tumor of the intestinal type. Together with the observation that mucinous epithelium is seen in some OSCCHTs, this case raises the possibility that this enigmatic neoplasm is of epithelial origin and is related to primary ovarian mucinous neoplasms. The pericolonic tumor exhibited an unusual immunophenotype with positive staining with CD99 and FLI-1, suggesting the possibility of a neoplasm in the Ewing family of tumors. This was excluded by molecular studies that showed no evidence of EWS/FLI-1 or EWS/ERG translocation.

Malignant melanoma representing with testicular metastasis: a case report and review of the literature.

We present the case of a 52-year-old man, with a history of malignant melanoma, who presented with a testicular lump. Radical orchidectomy confirmed a metastatic malignant melanoma. We discuss salient features of this disease in the light of the published literature.