ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Implementation of adjuvant therapies in non-metastatic melanoma improved treatment outcomes in some patients; however, adjuvant therapy can be associated with significant cost and risk of toxicity. Therefore, there is an unmet need to better identify patients at high risk of recurrence. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We carried out an ultrasensitive droplet digital PCR (ddPCR)-based detection of BRAFV600E-mutated circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) from blood samples prospectively collected before surgery, 1 hour after surgery, and then serially during follow-up. RESULTS: In 80 patients (stages ≤III), BRAFV600E mutations were detected in 47.2% of tissue, in 37.7% of ctDNA samples collected before surgery, and in 25.9% of ctDNA samples collected 1 hour after surgery. Patients with detected ctDNA in blood collected 1 hour after surgery compared to patients without detected ctDNA had higher likelihood of melanoma recurrence (P < 0.001) and shorter median disease-free survival (P = 0.001) and overall survival (P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasensitive ddPCR can detect ctDNA in pre- and post-surgical blood samples from patients with resectable melanoma. Detection of ctDNA in post-surgical samples is associated with inferior treatment outcomes.
Subject(s)
Circulating Tumor DNA , Melanoma , Mutation , Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf , Circulating Tumor DNA/genetics , Humans , Melanoma/genetics , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Proto-Oncogene Proteins B-raf/geneticsABSTRACT
Anogenital granulomatosis (AGG) is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder of unknown aetiology. It presents clinically with swelling of the genital or anoperineal area, with histopathological findings of noncaseating giant cell granulomas. Some cases of AGG are associated with underlying systemic disease, mainly Crohn disease. We report two patients with AGG. The first was a young man with ulcerative colitiis treated with infliximab, which also alleviated the developing symptoms of AGG. The second was a young woman who was otherwise healthy. After the introduction of complex decongestive therapy, the oedema was considerably reduced in both patients.
Subject(s)
Anus Diseases/therapy , Genital Diseases, Female/therapy , Genital Diseases, Male/therapy , Granuloma, Giant Cell/therapy , Adult , Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal/therapeutic use , Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use , Crohn Disease/complications , Drainage/methods , Edema/therapy , Female , Humans , Infliximab , Male , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The aim of the presented prospective study was to use a digital dermatoscopic system to follow-up patients with multiple melanocytic naevi, and to evaluate the frequency and character of dermatoscopic changes. METHODS: We monitored selected melanocytic lesions with the use of a 6-month follow-up interval between check-ups. We searched for changes in size, shape, symmetry, structure and colour. We defined the criteria for surgical excision and histopathological examination of changing lesions. We created a small group of excised unchanged atypical melanocytic naevi. RESULTS: We completed dermatoscopic monitoring of 1027 melanocytic lesions in 121 patients at risk of developing malignant melanoma. The average total follow-up interval was 21.0 months. We noticed a substantial enlargement of monitored lesions in 4.5% of cases, and there was a change of shape in 1.3% and change of asymmetry in 2.0%. The appearance of new structures, frequently being associated with malignant melanoma, was observed in 10 lesions, and it was predictive for the histopathological confirmation of this diagnosis in all cases. About 80% of monitored lesions remained unchanged. We excised 38 monitored lesions (seven melanomas in situ, four thin invasive melanomas and 27 melanocytic naevi). There was no melanoma excised in the group of unchanged atypical melanocytic lesions. CONCLUSION: Digital dermatoscopic follow-up facilitates the recognition of thin malignant melanomas and helps to reduce the number of unnecessary excisions.
Subject(s)
Dermoscopy/methods , Melanocytes/pathology , Melanoma/pathology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Risk Factors , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Digital computer analysis of dermatoscopical images has been reported to facilitate the differential diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions in recent years. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to perform digital computer analysis of a set of different melanocytic lesions and compare the objective results. METHODS: The set of 260 melanocytic lesions (150 excised difficult cases (46 melanomas, 47 atypical nevi, 57 common nevi and 110 unexcised common nevi) was automatically analysed by the digital dermatoscopical system microDERM. We searched for differences in asymmetry, size, compactness and colour distribution. Perimeter/area ratio was calculated. RESULTS: The perimeter/area ratio was detected as the most important criterion for differentiation between malignant and benign melanocytic lesions (sensitivity 91.3% and specificity 90.7% for malignant melanomas vs. all benign nevi; sensitivity 91.3% and specificity 80.8% for melanomas vs. clinically atypical nevi). Differences in size of the lesion, shape and asymmetry of colour were found and statistically verified. Using step-wise logistic regression the formula for calculation of probability of malignant nature of every analysed lesion was constructed. CONCLUSION: The perimeter/area ratio is a simple parameter for the differential diagnosis of melanocytic skin lesions.