Benign Cephalic Histiocytosis: A Rare Dermatological Entity in the Paediatric Population

@#Histiocytic proliferation of the skin can be categorised into Langerhan and non-Langerhan types. Benign cephalic histiocytosis (BCH) is a rare cutaneous non-Langerhan histiocytosis typically affecting infants and young children. We report a case of benign cephalic histiocytosis in a boy who, at seven months of age, presented with multiple yellowish papular eruptions on his face. Over the course of 18 months, the lesion spread to his trunk and upper extremities, sparing the mucous membranes, palms and soles. There was no systemic involvement identified. A histopathologic examination of the skin lesion showed diffuse infiltration of histiocytes within the superficial dermis intermingled with scattered eosinophils and small lymphocytes. Immunohistochemical studies showed that the histiocytes were diffusely positive for CD68. Langerhan markers CD1a and S100 were negative. The correct distinction between BCH and other histiocytic proliferations of the skin is important because BCH has a self-limiting clinical course with a tendency of spontaneous remission.

Expression of oestrogen-α receptor in papillary thyroid carcinoma and its association with metastasis

@#Introduction: Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the ninth most common malignancy among women. Although the disease prognosis is good, less favourable outcomes are predicted in those with higher disease stages and nodal metastasis. Oestrogen- α (ER-α) expression has been associated with aggressive presentation and greater disease progression and has been proposed as a predictor for lymph node metastases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between ER expression and clinicopathological features i.e. lymph node metastasis, tumour size, extrathyroidal extension, histological variants of PTC , age groups , ethnic and gender. Methods: We studied ER-α expression in 84 cases of PTC obtained within an eight-year period (2011-2018) by immunohistochemical technique (IHC). Associations between ER-α expression and clinicopathological features were evaluated using Fisher’s exact test. The statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: ER-α was expressed in 13.1% of all the PTC cases examined (n=11/84). There were no associations observed between ER-α expression and lymph node metastasis (p=1.000), tumour size (p=0.970), extrathyroidal extension (p=0.677), variants of PTC (p=1.000), age groups (p=0.188), gender (p=0.725) or race (p=0.920). Conclusion: There was no evidence in this study to support the application of ER-α as prediction marker for lymph node metastasis or disease aggressiveness in PTC. Given that the scope of this study was limited to the protein expression of ER- α, we also propose the inclusion of molecular analysis of ESR1 gene expression, as well as inclusion of detailed clinical and radiological findings in future research investigating the role of ER-α in prognostication of PTC.