[Amelanotic malignant melanoma of the scalp clinically resembling a proliferating trichilemmal cyst]. / Amelanotisches Melanom der Kopfhaut klinisch imponierend als proliferierende Trichilemmalzyste.

HISTORY AND FINDINGS: A 37-year-old woman was admitted with an ulcerated tumor of the scalp together with an enlarged cervical lymph node. The clinical features resembled proliferative trichilemmal cyst. INVESTIGATIONS: Fine needle aspiration of the lymph node revealed an amelanotic metastasis of a malignant melanoma. TREATMENT AND COURSE: The entire tumor was removed and a radical neck-dissection performed. Histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic malignant melanoma. CONCLUSION: Proliferative trichilemmal cysts and malignant melanoma of the scalp are rare, but should be considered as differential diagnoses of neoplasm in this part of the body.

Surgical standards in the primary care of melanoma patients.

Excisional biopsy is recommended as the procedure of choice whenever there is suspicion of malignant melanoma. There are only few indications for incisional biopsies, which--in contrast to former opinions--do not worsen the prognosis. For nearly 70 years the debate about the optimal resection safety margin around the primary tumor was influenced by historical case reports and paradigms. Recently, controlled clinical studies provided new insights. Accumulating evidence over the past two decades showed that narrower surgical margins do not have any influence on the rate of advanced metastatic disease. Local recurrence is rare (approximately 0.1%) when primary tumors are thin and is seen more often (approximately 10%) in primary tumors of greater thickness (>4 mm). Analysis of the overall survival in randomized trials shows equal prognosis for malignant melanoma for narrow and wide resection margins. Due to these findings in-toto excisional biopsy for in-situ melanoma, a resection margin of 1 cm for primary tumors with a tumor thickness up to 2 mm and a resection margin of 2 cm for primary tumors greater than 2 mm appears sufficient. By this procedure primary closure of wounds will be possible in nearly all cases, morbidity and costs of surgical approaches will be reduced. For a long time it has been discussed whether prophylactic removal of lymph nodes ('elective lymph node dissection') is of benefit for melanoma patients. More recently 'selective' lymphadenectomy ('sentinel node biopsy', SNB) has been proposed to evaluate the status of the first draining lymph node ('sentinel node') of the regional basin. Several studies now demonstrate that the sentinel node evaluation for underlying metastatic disease reflects the status of the entire lymph node region and is therefore a useful prognostic factor superior to measurement of tumor thickness in primary melanoma. However, it is unclear whether sentinel node biopsy is of benefit for a better survival in affected patients.

[Temozolomide as therapeutic option for patients with metastatic melanoma and poor prognosis]. / Temozolomid als Therapieoption bei Patienten mit fernmetastasiertem Melanom und ungünstiger Prognose.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Stage IV melanoma patients with a very advanced disease are usually excluded from clinical trials. We treated 25 stage IV patients with temozolomide - a cytostatic drug with 100% oral bioavailability and considerable penetration of CNS tissue. PATIENTS/METHODS: 25 patients (17 female, 8 male) between 24 and 82 years (mean: 55.5 years) were included in this retrospective study. 19 patients had received at least one and up to four previous chemotherapy regimens during the course of stage IV disease. 11 (44%) patients showed cerebral metastases prior to therapy with temozolomide. 200 mg/m2 temozolomide were given orally at home on day 1 to 5 in week 1 and in week 5, respectively. RESULTS: Out of 23 evaluable patients 2 (8.7%) showed a partial remission, 2 (8,7%) a minor response, 6 (26.1%) had stable disease, 1 (4,3%) a mixed response, and 12 (52.1%) patients experienced disease progression. Sites of remission included brain, lung, liver, lymph nodes and muscle. Two patients interrupted therapy due to severe leuko- and thrombocytopenia (WHO grade 3 and 4). All other patients tolerated treatment with temozolomide well and no dose reduction was necessary. The median overall survival was 7 months (2-28+ months) since beginning of therapy and 15 months (4-63+ months) since onset of stage IV disease. CONCLUSION: Temozolomide represents a safe treatment option in patients with metastatic melanoma and poor prognosis.

[Lipoma of the lip. A rare differential diagnosis]. / Das Lipom der Lippe. Eine seltene Differenzialdiagnose.

We report on a 49 year-old female patient with a cherry-sized tumor of the lower lip, which over several years had steadily increased in size. The patient was psychologically affected by the appearance of the tumor and had difficulties to eat. We excised the tumor in local anaesthesia. Histology confirmed the clinical suspicion of lipoma. A total of four lipomas at this location have been reported world-wide.