Immunohistochemical Study of p53 and MDM2 Expression on the Epithelial Tumors of the Skin / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: MDM2 (mouse double minute 2), the product of an oncogene is a key regulator of p53. It can repress transcription of p53 and eliminate it through proteolytic degradation. On the other hand, p53 binds specifically to the MDM2 and stimulates its transcription. Thus the two molecules are linked to each other through an autoregulatory feedback loop. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the expression patterns of p53 and MDM2 in several epithelial tumors and assess their correlations. METHODS: We investigated the expression of p53 and MDM2 protein by an immunohistochemical method on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), Bowen's disease, and actinic keratosis (AK). RESULTS: The expression of p53 was increased in 83.3% (15/18) of BCC, 87.5% (14/16) of SCC, 75.0% (12/16) of Bowen's disease, and 57% (8/14) of AK. The expression of MDM2 was increased in 50.0% (9/18) of BCC, 25.0% (4/16) of SCC, 68.8% (11/16) of Bowen's disease, and 14.3% (2/14) of AK. The expression level of p53 had a significant positive correlation with the expression level of MDM2 in actinic keratosis (p=0.022). There was no correlation between the expression level of these two markers in others (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: This data suggests that p53 and MDM2 may be associated with pathogenesis of skin epithelial tumors with complex pathways. p53 (+)/MDM2 (+) phenotype expression may have an important pathogenetic role in Bowen's disease. p53 (+)/MDM2 (-) type expression may have an important pathogenetic role in BCC, SCC, and AK. In particular, in AK p53 (+)/MDM2 (-) phenotype expression may have a major pathogenetic role. The mechanism of how they interact to promote tumorigenesis and the prognostic values in skin epithelial tumors remains to be elucidated though.

A Case of Extraskeletal Chondroma of the Face / 대한피부과학회지

Extraskeletal chondroma is a relatively-uncommon, benign, cartilagenous tumor of the soft tissue unrelated to bone. It occurs most frequently in the hands and feet of adults in the fourth and fifth decades and presents as a solitary, painless, slowly-growing mass usually measuring <3 cm in diameter. Histologically, it can resemble hyaline cartilage or chondrosarcoma of bone, which is more cellular. Whatever the histologic appearance is, the behavior is uniformly-benign and it does not metastasize so the recommended treatment is local excision. We report a rare case of extraskeletal chondromas in a 30 year-old female who presented with a skin-colored, hard and movable nodule on her right cheek.

A Case of Cutaneous Horn Associated with Acquired Digital Fibrokeratoma / 대한피부과학회지

Cutaneous horn is a relatively rare tumor, and is characterised as a protrusion of keratinized material from the skin in the shape of a horn. The lesion can be derived from many primary underlying lesions which may be benign, premalignant or malignant, so it is important to determine an accurate condition at the base of the lesion. We report a case of cutaneous horn on the right middle finger of a 63 year old woman. A 0.8 X 0.5 X 0.4 sized, dark-brownish protruding papule was observed. Histopathologic findings showed prominent orthokeratotic hyperkeratosis and findings at the base of the lesion were consistent with acquired digital fibrokeratoma.

Quality of Life of Acne Patients / 대한피부과학회지

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QOL) is a broad concept that encompasses all aspects of an individual's existence. Acne is a common inflammatory dermatosis which most frequently affects the face, and produces significant psychological and physical scarring. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare QOL in patients with acne and healthy controls by using the WHO QOL Scale, and to assess QOL of patients with acne by using the generic (WHO Quality of life scale), dermatology-specific (Skindex-29) and acne-specific (APSEA) questionnaires. The relationship between clinical characteristics and QOL were explored. Additionally, financial values which patients attach to the treatment for their acne were determined. METHODS: 170 acne patients and 41 healthy controls were recruited in this study and completed the WHO QOL- BREF Scale. Total scores and scores of domains of the WHO QOL Scale in the two groups were compared. Correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis were performed to examine the relationship between the quality of life and the clinical characteristics of patients with acne. RESULTS: Total score of WHO QOL scale in patients with acne were decreased compared to those in healthy controls. Clinical characteristics, including the severity of depression and anxiety, disease duration, clinical severity and self-reported severity (SRS), showed significant correlation with QOL. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the severity of depression and anxiety, and SRS were factors directly affecting the QOL in the patients with acne. As for financial aspects, 27.6% of patients would pay 100,000~500,000 won for acne treatment, but 33.5% of patients answered they would not pay when cost of treatment exceeded 100,000 won. CONCLUSION: QOL in patients with acne was poorer than that of healthy controls. The association between QOL and SRS was stronger than QOL and clinical severity. The severity of depression and anxiety was the most important predictor on QOL.

A Case of Desmoplastic Hairless Hypopigmented Nevus / 대한피부과학회지

Desmoplastic hairless hypopigmented nevus (DHHN) is a rare cutaneous disease that arises from preexisting giant congenital melanocytic nevus. Clinically, DHHN presents as a hard, ligneous, progressively depigmented, and alopecic giant congenital melanocytic nevus. Histopathologically, intense dermal fibrosis with desmoplasia, scarce nevus cells, and hypotrophy or decrease of hair follicles are predominant alterations. We, herein, report a rare case of DHHN in 6-year-old girl, which arose on her right wrist.

Decreased Hydrogen Peroxide Generation by Neutrophils from Acne Patients Treated with Isotretinoin

Background: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by neutrophils are closely correlated with the pathogenesis of a variety of inflammatory skin diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the amount of reactive oxygen species (hydrogen peroxide) generated by neutrophils from patients with acne inflammation decrease after oral administration of standard doses of isotretinoin. Method: In order to measure neutrophil hydrogen peroxide production, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA, neutrophil stimulant), was added to whole blood. Intracellular dichlorofluorescein (DCF) fluorescence of neutrophils was determined by flow cytometry. In order to assess treatment efficacy, we used a Global Acne Grading Score (GAGS) and assessed the efficacy based on examinations at baseline and week 8. Results: Patients with acne inflammation showed a significantly increased level of hydrogen peroxide produced by neutrophils compared to healthy controls. Patients with acne inflammation treated with isotretinoin showed a significant decrease in the ability of neutrophils to produce hydrogen peroxide in accordance with a clinical improvement of acne lesions. Conclusion: Our result shows that the generation of ROS which induce a chemical insult to the integrity of the follicular epithelium in acne, can be suppressed in isotretinoin-treated acne patients.

A Case of Eccrine Syringofibroadenoma Associated with Squamous Cell Carcinoma / 대한피부과학회지

No abstract available.

A Case of Centrifugal Lipodystrophy with Apoptotic Process in the Fatty Tissue

No abstract available.

A Case of Myolipoma on the Lip / 대한피부과학회지

Myolipoma is a rare biphasic, benign neoplasm that consists of mature adipocytes and smooth muscle cells. It is well-demarcated, with a soft to slimy yellow-white cut surface. Clinically it most often occurs within soft tissue in the abdominal cavity or retroperitoneum, but other locations such as the round ligaments, pericardium, and eyelid have been reported. We herein report a rare case of myolipoma which arose on the right upper lip area in a 68-year-old female.

The Development of a Simple Evaluation Questionnaire for Screening the Overweight-type Dietary Pattern in 30 to 49 Year Old Adults / 대한지역사회영양학회지

A study was performed to develop as a screening tool the Simple Evaluation Questionnaire for Screening the Overweight-type Dietary Pattern in 30 to 49 Year Old Adults. We used the data from the 30 to 49 year old subjects who participated in the three surveys - the health behavior survey, the dietary habit survey and the food intake survey - as the National Health and Nutrition Survey 1998. The 3,598 adults were classified into to two body fatness groups of normal (including underweight) and overweight (including obese) on the basis of their relative body weight (RBW). When comparing variables between the two groups, significant differences were found in gender, education, job, employment status, perceived health status, sadness / depression state, stress level, age, number of diseases, age when overweigh-tedness started, maximum body weight, sleep length, drinking pattern (yes / no), amount of alcoholic drinks, frequency of intoxication or drunkeness, amount of alcoholic drinks when drunk, intensity of exercise, frequency of exercise, exercise duration, skipped meals, small meals and drug supplements. In terms of food intake, there were significant differences in the daily food intake in terms of breakfast, dinner, daily kimchi and dairy products. In terms of mealtimes, we found differences in the amount of cooked rice at breakfast, kimchi at lunch, soup / kuk at dinner, fresh vegetables for snacks, fried foods for snacks between breakfast and lunch, and fruits / juices for snacks between lunch and dinner. After developing questions with indicators and analyzing the indicators by logistic regression analysis three times, we chose 10 questions for a simple evaluation of dietary patterns for the overweight-type category in order to give one point each. Among them we selected two questions to add one additional point and one question to add two additional points. The average scores of the overweight and normal groups, as shown by the developed questionnaire, were 5.97 +/-2.36 and 7.36 +/-2.21, respectively. A score of seven points was selected as the cut-off point. We examined the sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value of the questionnaire to the results of 67%, 59% and 62%, respectively.