Proximal Extremities (proximal + extremity)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Histological evolution of lentiginous melanoma: a report of five new cases

JOURNAL OF CUTANEOUS PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
Tracy Davis
Background:, The term lentiginous melanoma was recently used for atypical melanocytic proliferations sharing some histological features with lentigo maligna and associated with a protracted in situ stage before invasion. Lentiginous melanoma was characterized by predominantly single-cell lentiginous growth pattern with focal junctional nests and pagetoid spread, preservation of the dermoepidermal junction, limited cytological atypia, and lack of significant solar elastosis. We report five similar cases. Methods:, Histological review of routine sections with clinicopathological correlation. Results:, Three patients were male and two were female. The age at presentation ranged from 24 to 66 years. All lesions arose on the truck or proximal extremities. All five cases fulfilled histological criteria proposed for lentiginous melanoma. None of the lesions showed significant solar elastosis. One lesion was followed clinically and histologically for 16 years without intervening treatment. It had three local recurrences before culminating in invasive melanoma. Conclusions:, Our observations support recent efforts to distinguish lentiginous melanoma as a distinct clinicopathological entity. Lentiginous melanoma can remain in situ for a long time before invasion and may be considered an analogue of lentigo maligna occurring on non-severely sun-damaged skin. Familiarity with the histological features of this variant is important for its early recognition and treatment. [source]


Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans: a population-based cancer registry descriptive study of 66 consecutive cases diagnosed between 1982 and 2002

JOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 10 2006
D Monnier
Abstract Background, Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a rare malignant tumour of the skin, with an estimated incidence of 0.8 to five cases per 1 million people per year. Objective, To study epidemiological, immunohistochemical and clinical features, delay in diagnosis, type of treatment and outcome of DFSP from 1982 to 2002. Methods, Using data from the population-based cancer registry, 66 patients with pathologically proved DFSP were included (fibrosarcomatous DFSP were excluded). Each patient lived in one of the four departments of Franche-Comté (overall population of 1 million people) at the time of diagnosis. The main data sources came from public and private pathology laboratories and medical records. The rules of the International Agency for Research on Cancer were applied. Results, The estimated incidence of DFSP in Franche-Comté was about three new cases per 1 million people per year. Male patients were affected 1.2 times as often as female patients were. The trunk (45%) followed by the proximal extremities (38%) were the most frequent locations. DFSP occurred mainly in young adults between 20 and 39 years of age. Mean age at diagnosis was 43 years, and the mean delay in diagnosis was 10.08 years. Our 66 patients initially underwent a radical local excision. Among them, 27% experienced one or more local recurrences during 9.6 years of follow-up. There was one regional lymph node recurrence without visceral metastases. These recurrences were significantly related to the initial peripheral resection margins. We observed a local recurrence rate of 47% for margins less than 3 cm, vs. only 7% for margins ranging from 3 to 5 cm [P = 0.004; OR = 0.229 (95%, CI = 0.103,0.510)]. The mean time to a first local recurrence was 2.65 years. Nevertheless, there was no death due to the DFSP course at the end of the follow-up, and the final outcome was favourable. Conclusion, Our study emphasizes the importance of wide local excision with margins of at least 3 cm in order to prevent local recurrence. However, the recent development of inhibitors of signal transduction by the PDGFB pathway should soon modify the surgical strategy, which is often too mutilating. [source]


Cutaneous Pustular Leukemoid Reactions in Trisomy 21

PEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 3 2003
Joanna M. Burch, M.D.
The white blood cell (WBC) counts on the first day of life were markedly elevated, with blasts seen on examination of the peripheral blood smear. The skin eruptions progressed and became pustular. Viral and bacterial cultures were negative. Skin examination revealed pustules on an erythematous base on the cheeks, shoulders, trunk, and proximal extremities. Skin biopsy specimens showed an intraepidermal pustule with an inflammatory infiltrate including neutrophils, eosinophils, and mononuclear cells. The mononuclear cells had atypical, immature-appearing nuclei. In patient 1, these cells were strongly myeloperoxidase positive on immunohistochemistry, indicating myeloid lineage. In patient 2, these cells were CD3-positive T cells. Patient 1 received a 5-day infusion of continuous cytarabine (ara-C) secondary to high WBC counts and symptomatic hyperviscosity. During therapy, the high WBC count and the pustules resolved. The lesions of patient 2 improved with topical mometasone furoate and resolved as her WBC count decreased. Recently, similar cases have been reported. Transient myeloproliferative disorders, or leukemoid reactions, should always be considered when newborns with Down syndrome or trisomy 21 mosaicism develop a pustular eruption. [source]


Immunohistochemical investigation of mid-dermal elastolysis

CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL DERMATOLOGY, Issue 2 2004
T. Gambichler
Summary We report a 31-year-old Caucasian woman presenting with remarkable wrinkling on her trunk and proximal extremities. Diagnosis of mid-dermal elastolysis (MDE) was confirmed by Van Gieson's staining. Immunohistochemical investigations revealed enhanced expression of CD34+ and CD68+ cells accompanied by slightly increased expression of CD3+ and CD4+ lymphocytes in lesional skin. Furthermore an elevated cellular expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and slightly increased presence of MMP-12 positive cells combined with a decrease of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1) positive cells was observed in lesional skin as compared with a control specimen obtained from nonlesional skin. Our data may indicate inflammatory processes and an altered balance between MMPs and TIMPs in MDE. Furthermore CD34+ dendritic fibroblasts and/or histiocytes are possibly involved in the pathogenesis of MDE. [source]


Fore limb bones of late Pleistocene dwarf hippopotamuses (Mammalia, Cetartiodactyla) from Madagascar previously determined as belonging to the crocodylid Voay Brochu, 2007

FOSSIL RECORD-MITTEILUNGEN AUS DEM MUSEUM FUER NATURKUNDE, Issue 2 2010
Oliver Hampe
Abstract A humerus and two radii of juvenile dwarf hippopotamuses are redescribed. The subfossil bones from the collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin were erroneously assigned to the horned crocodile Voay robustus (Grandidier & Vaillant, 1872) by Bickelmann & Klein (2009). All three limb bones presented here belong to immature animals. The epiphyses are not fused, except the proximal extremity of the right radius; and the radius and ulna are also unfused. The two radii are from individuals of different size, whereas the left radius and the humerus are from animals of similar size. Morphologically, the limb bones cannot be identified to species level. A tentative assignment to Hippopotamus madagascariensis is discussed based on the knowledge of the geographic origin on the island. (© 2010 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]