Clinical and histological patterns and treatment of pyoderma gangrenosum.

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare inflammatory neutrophilic dermatosis for which accurate epidemiological data are limited and therapy remains a challenge. The primary study's aim was to examine all cases of PG observed in our department over a 6-year period in order to describe the relevant characteristics and outcome under therapy. Fourteen patients were included (5 women, 9 men). The average age of our patients was 40,15 years. The classical, ulcerative form was found in 10 cases (71.42%), the pustular form in 4 cases (27.57%) and PG was multifocal in 4 cases. The PG was located preferentially to the lower limbs. Histological examination was realized in all patients and objectified inflammatory infiltrate composed of polymorphonuclear neutrophils in all cases with vasculitis in 4 cases. Six patients (42.85%) had associated disease at diagnosis of PG, including inflammatory bowel disease in two cases (14.28%), a blood disease in 2 cases (14.28%), lymph node tuberculosis and inflammatory arthritis in 1 case (7%). The most frequent first-line treatments were oral corticosteroids (7 cases) and other treatments used were colchicine in 2 cases, topical corticosteroids in 3 cases with good clinical evolution. Our study confirms that PG is a rare disease, associated in almost half of cases with systemic disease already present at diagnosis; in our Moroccan background, it is most often inflammatory bowel disease, hematological or solid cancer and tuberculosis.

[The role of the micrographic surgery in the management of basal cell carcinoma: experience in the Department of Dermatology, at the Hassan II University Hospital, Fes, Morocco]. / L'intérêt de la chirurgie micrographique dans la prise en charge du carcinome basocellulaire: expérience du service de dermatologie CHU Hassan II de Fès, Maroc.

Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) is a technique allowing for intraoperative histologic assessment of surgical margin of malignant tumors. This study aims to highlight the role of MMS in the achievement of radical healing of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in our patients. We conducted a study of 29 patients with basal cell carcinoma of the face over a period of 5 years. The median age of patients was 45.8 years (12-80). The sex-ratio M/F was 1.23. One-stage surgical procedure was sufficient to obtain complete resection in 51% of cases. Three-stage surgical procedure was needed in 14% of the cases. The mean duration of one-stage surgical procedure was 1 hour. No complications were reported in the postoperative period and sequelae were simple. The aesthetic and functional result was satisfactory. No recurrence was noted. BCC accounts for approximately 80% of all skin cancers. The decision to use MMS to treat BCC is based on three variables: the seat and the size of the tumor, its histological appearance with the identification of resection margin and its recurrent nature. MMS is currently the most effective method in the treatment of BCC and allows maximum healthy tissue preservation. It is a safe and repeatable surgical procedure based on team work and adapted to the treatment of patients with BCC who are at high risk of recidivism. The aesthetic and functional results are satisfactory. Recurrence rate at 5 years is 10 times lower than with the other methods.

VacA and CagA Status as Biomarker of Two Opposite End Outcomes of Helicobacter pylori Infection (Gastric Cancer and Duodenal Ulcer) in a Moroccan Population.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection induces inflammation of the gastric mucosa, which may progress to precancerous lesions leading to gastric cancer. Pathological determinism is associated to some virulence genes of the bacterium, notably the vacA and cagA genes. The present study aimed to determine the H. pylori genotypes distribution and their association with sex, age and gastric diseases in a Moroccan population. Gastric biopsy was taken from 1079 consenting patients. The specimens were processed by PCR to identify H. pylori and to determine the genotypic profile by PCR characterizing vacA s, vacA m and vacA i regions directly from biopsies H. pylori positives. VacA genotyping revealed the predominance of vacA m2 (53.2%), vacA s2 (52.9%) and vacA i2 (52%). The most virulent vacA alleles (s1, i1 and m1) are more predominant in men (47.3%, 41.9% and 46.1% respectively) than in women (38.3%, 33.3% and 37% respectively). However, the association between vacA genotypes and age did not reach a statistical significant value. Logistic regression analysis results show that vacA i1m1 and vacA i1m2 genotypes were strongly associated with the risk of GC, the Odds Ratio (95% confidence interval) was 29.73 [5.08-173.73] and 9.17 [2.06-40.82] respectively, while vacAs1/cagA+ seems to be a risk factor for DU since it is inversely associated with GC (OR was 0.13 [0.02-0.75]. The results of this study suggest that vacA i1 genotype independently to vacAm status may be of a clinical usefulness and will help to identify patients at a high risk of GC development.

[Renal needle biopsy in the Department of Nephrology in Fès: indications and results in 522 cases]. / Ponction biopsies rénales dans le Service de Néphrologie de Fès: indications et résultats: à propos de 522 cas.

The contribution of renal needle biopsy (RNB) to make a diagnosis, a treatment selection and a prognostic evaluation of nephropathies is significant. No Moroccan study has evaluated the practice and the contribution of RNB. Our aim was to study RNB indications, to determine the frequency of kidney diseases identified by RNB in our region and make a comparison between clinical and biological data and histological diagnosis. This is a retrospective study conducted between January 2009 and December 2012. We included all patients in the Department of Nephrology, CHU Hassan II, Fez, who underwent biopsy of native kidneys. 522 RNB were performed. We excluded 8 biopsies due to lack of informations and 514 were retained. The average age of the patients at the time of RNB was 39±17 years (3-82 years). Sex ratio was 0.9. Nephrotic syndrome was the most common clinical diagnosis to all ages (58.2%). Glomerular nephropathies represent 94,2% of diagnosed renal diseases, their distribution varies according to patients' age. RNB confirmed the first clinically suspected diagnosis in 40.65% of cases, whereas it revealed an unexpected diagnosis in 22.5% of them. Syndromic diagnosis can orient the clinician toward the most probable kidney disease and guide any emergency treatment while awaiting RNB results. But it can never replace RNB which remains the gold standard.

Detection of Helicobacter pylori urease antigen in saliva in patients with different gastric H. pylori status.

BACKGROUND: Finding a simple, accurate, and noninvasive diagnosis method is a substantial challenge for the detection of Helicobacter pylori. The aim of the present study was to compare the presence of H. pylori urease antigen in saliva with the presence of this bacterium in gastric mucosa. METHODS: Saliva samples and gastric biopsies were taken from 153 consenting Moroccan patients. Saliva samples were analyzed using an immunochromatographic test for urease antigen H. pylori detection. Thereafter, the gastric biopsies were analyzed by histology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect this bacterium. RESULTS: From a total of 153 recruited Moroccan patients, H. pylori was detected in 28 (18.30%), 87 (57.24%), and 69 (45.10%) cases by saliva test, histology, and PCR, respectively. A significant association was observed between the presence of H. pylori antigen in saliva and age. However, no association was found with sex, H. pylori virulence factors, gastric disease outcome, and density of the bacterium on the gastric mucosa. Considering that only 90 patients presented concordant results on H. pylori diagnosis (positive or negative) by both histology and PCR, the immunochromatographic test showed very low sensitivity (29.79%) and high specificity (90.70%). Of these two tests, the positive and negative predictive values were 77.78% and 54.17%, respectively. The accuracy of the test for salivary detection of urease antigen H. pylori was 58.89%. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated a low detection rate of H. pylori antigens in saliva compared with the presence of this bacterium in gastric mucosa, suggesting that saliva cannot be used as a suitable sample for the diagnosis of H. pylori in our study population.

Epigenetics could explain some Moroccan population colorectal cancers peculiarities: microsatellite instability pathway exploration.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal Cancers (CRC) are one of the most common malignancies in the world. Their incidence in Morocco, between 2005 and 2007, was 5.6 for 100000 inhabitants, which is very low compared to what found in developed countries. In addition, CRCs show a high frequency of rectal localizations, and occurs in a younger population in Morocco compared to what found in developed countries. The purpose of this study is to confirm these CRC peculiarities in Morocco and try to explain them by exploring the microsatellite instability molecular pathway. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study conducted since January 2010, including 385 patients admitted in Hassan II University Hospital of Fez. We collected clinical, radiological and pathological data. We investigated the expression of mismatch repair (MMR) proteins in 214 patients and BRAF gene mutations in 159 patients. RESULTS: Mean age was 55.08 +/- 15.16 years. 36.5% of patients were less than 50 years old and 49.3% of tumors were localized in the rectum. Loss of MMR protein expression was observed in 11.2% of cases. It was independently associated with individual or family history of cancer belonging to Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC) spectrum (p = 0.01) and proximal localization (p = 0.02). No BRAF mutation was detected in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: These results confirm the high occurrence of CRCs to young patients and the high frequency of rectal localizations in Moroccan population. They mostly show an absence of BRAF mutation, supposing a rarity of MLH1 promoter hypermethylation pathway, which may even partially explain the CRC peculiarities in our context. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/5868184711716884.

Apocrine carcinoma of the male breast: a case report of an exceptional tumor.

Apocrine carcinoma of the male breast is an exceptional malignant tumor. It does not have a particular clinical or radiological appearance, but it's microscopically characterized by the presence of granular cells and foamy cells representing over 90% of tumor cells. These cells express most of the time the GCDFP-15 and the androgen receptors. This tumor is a distinct molecular entity. In this observation, we report the case of a 70 year old man presenting apocrine carcinoma of the left breast diagnosed at the stage of lung metastasis.

Eccrine carcinoma : a rare cutaneous neoplasm.

Eccrine carcinoma is an extremely rare malignancy of the skin with few well documented cases reported in the literature. It is frequently found on the lower extremities, and it equally affects both sexes in the sixth and seventh decade.In our case, we present a 46- year-old female with a recurring exophytic tumor on the right lower extremity, without local extension.The initial tumor was biopsied, excised and diagnosed as an eccrine carcinoma. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/3568051328673318.

Can p63 serve as a biomarker for giant cell tumor of bone? A Moroccan experience.

BACKGROUND: Multinucleated giant cell-containing tumors and pseudotumors of bone represent a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant lesions. Differential diagnosis can be challenging, particularly in instances of limited sampling. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of the P63 in the positive and differential diagnosis of giant cell tumor of bone. METHODS: This study includes 48 giant cell-containing tumors and pseudotumors of bone. P63 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Data analysis was performed using Epi-info software and SPSS software package (version 17). RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis showed a P63 nuclear expression in all giant cell tumors of bone, in 50% of osteoid osteomas, 40% of aneurysmal bone cysts, 37.5% of osteoblastomas, 33.3% of chondromyxoide fibromas, 25% of non ossifiant fibromas and 8.3% of osteosarcomas. Only one case of chondroblastoma was included in this series and expressed p63. No P63 immunoreactivity was detected in any of the cases of central giant cell granulomas or langerhans cells histiocytosis. The sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) of P63 immunohistochemistry for the diagnosis of giant cell tumor of bone were 100%. The specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) were 74.42% and 59.26% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study found not only that GCTOB expresses the P63 but it also shows that this protein may serve as a biomarker for the differential diagnosis between two morphologically similar lesions particularly in instances of limited sampling. Indeed, P63 expression seems to differentiate between giant cell tumor of bone and central giant cell granuloma since the latter does not express P63. Other benign and malignant giant cell-containing lesions express P63, decreasing its specificity as a diagnostic marker, but a strong staining was seen, except a case of chondroblastoma, only in giant cell tumor of bone. Clinical and radiological confrontation remains essential for an accurate diagnosis. VIRTUAL SLIDES: The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1838562590777252.

Solitary granular cell tumor of cecum: a case report.

Granular cell tumor (GCT) was first described by Abrikossof in 1926. This tumor is a benign neoplasm of unclear histogenesis that is generally believed to be of nerve sheath origin. GCT is not common and most often affects the tongue, skin, and soft tissue, although it may occur anywhere in the body. Gastrointestinal tract involvement, and especially that of the colon, is very rare. This usually benign tumor appears as a submucosal nodule, measuring less than 2 cm in diameter and is often found incidentally during colorectal examinations. We describe the case of a 27-year-old man with a GCT in the cecum that was detected after a screening colonoscopy. Endoscopic examination revealed a yellowish submucosal tumor, 0.7 cm in diameter. An endoscopic mucosal polypectomy was done for histological confirmation and treatment.

A giant peritoneal simple mesothelial cyst: a case report.

INTRODUCTION: A peritoneal simple mesothelial cyst is a very rare mesenteric cyst of mesothelial origin. The size of this lesion usually ranges between a few centimeters and 10 cm. It is usually asymptomatic, but occasionally presents with various, non-specific symptoms, which makes correct pre-operative diagnosis difficult. We present a case of a giant peritoneal simple mesothelial cyst that was successfully managed by complete surgical excision which is the treatment of choice. CASE PRESENTATION: A 21-year-old Caucasian Moroccan woman with vague abdominal discomfort and associated distention, during the previous 2 years, without other symptoms, presented to our hospital. Her past medical history was unremarkable. On physical examination, a mobile, painless and relatively hard abdominal mass was palpated. The laboratory examination and abdominal radiograph were unremarkable. Abdominal radiologic imaging showed a cystic mass of 35 × 20 × 10 cm that occupied the entire anterior and right abdominal cavity. Radical excision of the cyst was performed by midline laparotomy without any damage to the adjacent abdominal organs. The histopathological diagnosis was simple mesothelial cyst. The postoperative course was uneventful with no recurrence. CONCLUSION: A peritoneal simple mesothelial cyst is a quite rare abdominal tumor, that must always be considered in differential diagnosis of pelvic cystic lesions and other mesenteric cysts. The treatment of choice is the complete surgical excision of the cyst.