Melanoma spitzoide simulando lesão vascular - Relato de caso / Spitzoid melanoma simulating vascular lesion - Case report

O melanoma maligno é um tumor de melanócitos responsável por mais de 75% dos óbitos por câncer de pele. As variantes raras desta patologia são responsáveis por 5% dos casos e podem mimetizar outras patologias. Relatamos caso de paciente com melanoma spitzoide e discutimos os achados dermatoscópicos, histopatológicos e estudo imuno-histoquímico, assim como o seguimento desta rara variante de melanoma.

Malignant melanoma is a melanocyte tumor responsible for more than 75% of skin cancer deaths. The rare variants of this pathology are responsible for 5% of the cases and may mimic other pathologies. We report the case of a patient with spitzoid melanoma and we discuss the dermoscopic, histopathological, and immunohistochemical findings, as well as the follow-up of this rare variant of melanoma.

Desmoplastic melanoma: a rare variant with challenging diagnosis

Abstract: Desmoplastic melanoma, a distinct and uncommon variant, is characterized as an invasive lesion with proliferation of fusiform melanocytes in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, associated with varying patterns of desmoplasia. Neurotropism and neural differentiation may occur. The clinical presentation is variable and nonspecific, easily confused with other fibrous neoplasms. The disease is locally aggressive and shows lower metastasis rates than other types of melanoma. Histopathology may be insufficient, requiring positive immunohistochemistry for S-100 protein and other antigens of melanocytic differentiation. Because desmoplastic melanoma represents a true clinical, dermoscopic, and histopathological diagnostic challenge, a case of invasive desmoplastic melanoma is reported, affecting a photoexposed area in an elderly woman after histological revisions and an initial diagnosis of fibroma.

Melanoma desmoplástico / Desmoplastic melanoma

Descrito pela primeira vez em 1971 por Conley et al., o melanoma desmoplásico (MD) representa menos de 4% dos melanomas cutâneos. Trata-se de variante distinta e incomum,que se caracteriza por tumor fibroso de células fusiformes liberadoras de colágeno em matriz fibrosa. Seu diagnóstico é propenso a erro, principalmente por sua semelhança com outras neoplasias fibrosas. Em cerca de 600 casos descritos na literatura, observou-se apresentação clínica não pigmentada, profunda e de aspecto fibroso, associada à lesão precursora. Seu reconhecimento é de grande importância devido ao comportamento de caráter recidivante e à consequente necessidade de abordagem cirúrgica distinta.

First described in 1971 by Conley and colleagues, desmoplastic melanomas represent less than 4% of cutaneous melanomas. It is a distinctive and uncommon variant characterized by a spindle cell fibrous tumor of collagen forming cells, isolated by dense fibrous matrix.Desmoplastic melanomas are frequently misdiagnosed, mainly due to their similarity to other fibrous neoplasms. A review of about 600 reported cases unexpectedly revealed the pigmented clinical presentation of a deep and fibrous nodule that is classically associated with a precursor lesion. The ability to recognise this lesion?s characteristics is very important, due to its recurrent behaviour and subsequent need for a specialized surgical approach.

MAGE Gene Expression in Bronchial Washing Fluid in Suspected Parenchymal Lung Cancer / 결핵및호흡기질환

BACKGROUND: The main goal of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of reverse transcription-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-nested PCR) in bronchial washing fluid with MAGE A1-6 common primers for the detection of lung cancers invisible by bronchoscopy. METHODS: To determine the expression of MAGE A1-6 gene in 189 lung cancers diagnosed by conventional fluoroscopy-guided lung biopsy and 89 cancer-free controls, RT-nested PCR was performed in bronchial washing specimens. We analyzed MAGE A1-6 RT-nested PCR data according to tumor histology, stage, size, and compared them with cytological data. RESULTS: 189 patients (111 cases in adenocarcinoma, 47 cases in squamous cell carcinoma, 22 cases in small cell lung carcinoma, and 9 cases in other cancers) and 89 benign patients were investigated. The expression of MAGE was performed by nested RT-PCR using common MAGE primer. Among 189 cancer patients, the expression rate of MAGE was 49.2%, and the positive predictive value was 89.4%. However, the expression rate of MAGE in patients with benign lesions was 12.4%. In peripheral lung cancer, the positive rate of MAGE expression was 57.4% in squamous cell carcinoma, 44.1% in adenocarcinoma and 59.1% in small cell lung cancer. Whereas the expression rate of bronchial washing cytology in peripheral lung cancer was 9.0% (p=0.011). CONCLUSION: MAGE RT-PCR in bronchial washing fluid gave us promising data for the detection of peripheral lung cancer. It could be a useful method for selecting diagnostic tools for peripheral lesions.

Lymphangiomyomatosis Arising in the Pelvic Cavity: A Case Report

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disease usually occurring in young women of child-bearing age. It is characterized by a distinctive proliferation of lymphatic smooth muscle cells, especially occurring in the pulmonary parenchyme. The majority of primary LAM occurs in the lung, but there are a few reports of extrapulmonary cases. We report a case of a 21-yr-old female who first complained of low abdominal pain and was referred from a local clinic with the impression of an ovarian cyst. Gynecologic ultrasonography revealed a large posterior pelvic mass with an irregular echogenicity measuring 9.7x4.2 cm in size. Pelviscopy showed a large, thin walled, partly cystic, pelvic mass. The mass was partly removed. Microscopically, the mass was characterized by a haphazard proliferation of smooth muscle cells arranged in fascicular, trabecular, and papillary patterns around a ramifying network of endothelium-lined spaces. The cells were plump or epithelioid with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and showed a positive reaction for both alpha-smooth muscle actin and HMB-45 antigen. Surgical and pathological findings were consistent with pelvic retroperitoneal LAM. Despite the numerous treatment attempts, the patient suffered from intractable chylous ascites and developed pulmonary LAM and died due to severe respiratory distress.