To scoop or not to scoop: the diagnostic and therapeutic utility of the scoop-shave biopsy for pigmented lesions.

BACKGROUND: Concern over transection of melanomas has inhibited many practitioners from using the scoop-shave for removal of pigmented lesions. OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of the scoop-shave for pigmented lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The practitioner's clinical diagnosis, intent (sample or completely remove), and removal technique (excision, punch, shave biopsy, or scoop-shave) were recorded. Pathology results including the status of the peripheral and deep margins were subsequently documented. RESULTS: Over an 8-month period, 333 procedures were performed. Of the 11 melanomas (6 in situ and 5 invasive) removed by the scoop-shave, none had positive deep margins and 6 (2 in situ and 4 invasive) were completely removed. One of the 50 dysplastic nevi removed by scoop-shave had a positive deep margin (moderately dysplastic). Forty-six dysplastic nevi were completely removed by the scoop-shave. When the practitioner's intent was "complete removal," the lesion was completely removed 73.1% of the time by scoop-shave, 91% by standard excision, 18.1% by shave biopsy, and 78.6% by punch excision (p < .0001). CONCLUSION: The scoop-shave is a safe and effective technique for diagnosis and treatment of melanocytic lesions.

Asymptomatic petechial eruption on the lower legs.

The authors report an unusual case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever that presented as an asymptomatic petechial eruption on the lower legs. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is rare in New England and, as such, is typically not on the differential diagnosis when presented with such patients. What began as an asymptomatic eruption progressed to more classic signs of the disease, including a positive Rocky Mountain spotted fever titer. The patient was successfully treated with doxycydine and within a short period of time, was completely back at baseline.

Black dot tinea capitis in an immunosuppressed man.

Tinea capitis is a common superficial fungal infection of the scalp primarily afflicting young children. In adults, this infection may have an atypical presentation that may lead to a delay in diagnosis. The authors present a case report of black dot tinea capitis in an immunosuppressed Asian man with psoriasis and provide a review of the literature.

Levamisole-induced vasculopathy: a report of 2 cases and a novel histopathologic finding.

Although cocaine-induced pseudovasculitis and urticarial vasculitis have been reported in the past, levamisole-induced vasculopathy with ecchymosis and necrosis, termed here LIVEN, has only recently been described in association with cocaine use. Levamisole, a veterinary antihelminthic agent used previously as an immunomodulating agent, is present as a "cutting agent" in approximately two-thirds of the cocaine currently entering the United States. Levamisole is believed to potentiate the effects of cocaine and may also be used as a "signature" for tracing its market distribution. Herein, we report 2 cases of LIVEN in patients with histories of chronic cocaine use. In both the cases, a temporal association with neutropenia preceding the eruption was noted. A novel histopathologic finding present only in the second case was the presence of extensive interstitial and perivascular neovascularization. Our 2 cases reaffirm that neutropenia may precede the cutaneous eruption of LIVEN. Case 2 extends the spectrum of histopathologic findings to include the novel phenomenon of neovascularization-hitherto unreported in this entity.

IMP3 predicts aggressive superficial urothelial carcinoma of the bladder.

PURPOSE: In this study, we investigated whether an oncofetal protein, IMP3, can serve as a new biomarker to predict progression and metastasis of early-stage urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: The expression of IMP3 in 242 patients with primary superficial bladder urothelial carcinoma and metastatic urothelial carcinoma was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Patients with primary superficial urothelial carcinoma of the bladder were further investigated by use of survival analysis. RESULTS: Twenty percent (42 of 214) of primary superficial urothelial carcinomas and 93% (26 of 28) of metastatic urothelial carcinomas expressed IMP3. Kaplan-Meier plots and log-rank tests showed that patients with IMP3-positive tumors had a much lower progression-free survival (P = 0.0002) and disease-free survival rate (P = 0.0067) than did those with IMP3-negative tumors. The 5-year progression-free and disease-free survival rates were 91% and 94% in IMP3-negative patients versus 64% and 76% in IMP3-positive patients, respectively. Sixty percent of IMP3-positive patients with superficial invasive urothelial carcinoma at initial diagnosis went on to develop metastases, whereas no metastasis was found in IMP3-negative patients (P = 0.0017). In the multivariable Cox analysis, patients with IMP3 expression in their superficial urothelial carcinomas subsequently developed invasive tumors or metastasis at a rate that was about five times greater than cases without expression of IMP3 adjusting for other well-known clinical variables (tumor stage and grade, etc.). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that IMP3 is an independent prognostic marker that can identify a group of patients with a high potential to develop progression and who might benefit from early aggressive therapy.

Histopathology of Gottron's papules--utility in diagnosing dermatomyositis.

Dermatomyositis (DM) is an uncommon connective tissue disease that presents with a characteristic violaceous skin eruption as well as proximal muscle weakness, primarily of the upper extremities. Cutaneous stigmata of DM include Gottron's papules, similarly colored papules and plaques overlying the extensor surfaces of finger joints. While biopsy of the typical poikilodermatous skin eruption found in patients with suspected DM is a standard algorithmic component in the workup and diagnosis of the disease, Gottron's papules are rarely sampled for histopathologic assessment. The precise reason for this is not known but may be related to problems associated with healing because of constant motion forces in the vicinity of the joint. Given this, sparse literature is available on the histopathologic features of Gottron's papules. In this study, we present two cases in which the presence of papular (Gottron's papules) lesions on the fingers led to a presumptive diagnosis of DM and prompted biopsies of the same. The study illustrates the diagnostic utility of biopsies from Gottron's papules.

Renal cell carcinoma presenting as a perineal mass: case report and review of the literature.

Perineal involvement in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has not been reported. Vaginal metastases of RCC are also rare. We present a case of metastatic RCC, initially presenting as a perineal cyst. A 53-year-old woman presented with a perineal cyst, which was excised and diagnosed as clear cell carcinoma. A workup further revealed a vaginal mass and a renal tumor. A nephrectomy and local vaginal excision were performed, leading to the diagnosis of metastatic RCC. This case illustrates the variability in RCC presentation. Also, because vaginal clear cell carcinoma is rare, all such lesions should be considered potentially renal in origin.