Familial Kaposi's Sarcoma: A Report of Five Cases from Greece.

Introduction. Familial cases of Kaposi's sarcoma have rarely been reported. Kaposi's sarcoma is not uncommon in Greece; its incidence is estimated at 0.20 per 100.000 habitants, showing an increased predominance in the Peloponnese, in Southern Greece. Case Report. We describe five cases of familial clustering of KS originating from Greece. Discussion. The pathogenesis of familial Kaposi's sarcoma is still far from being completely understood. Genetic, environmental, and infectious factors have been incriminated.

Increasing the Efficacy of SLNB in Cases of Malignant Melanoma Located in Close Proximity to the Lymphatic Basin.

Background. Being predictive of the entire nodal bed, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is invaluable in the surgical management of melanoma. Although the concept is simple, sentinel lymph node (SLN) identification and removal can be technically challenging. Methods. A total of 102 consecutive patients have undergone SLNB in the Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery of Soroka University Medical Center from 2009 to 2012. Patients have undergone SLNB using a radioactive tracer and blue stain in order to identify the SLN. Although SLNB usually precedes the wide excision of melanoma, primary lesions in close proximity (<10 cm) to the lymph basin require wide excision before beginning the SLN quest. Results. All pathology reports confirmed the excision of lymph nodes. Conclusions. When treating MM in close proximity to the lymph basin, changing the sequence of the SLNB procedure seems to increase the efficacy of the method.

Double-bladed scalpel in mohs micrographic surgery.

Mohs micrographic surgery is a tissue-sparing technique that allows for excision of cutaneous tumors under complete microscopic margins control. Mohs surgery boasts high cure rates and maximum tissue conservation. We introduce the double-blade scalpel in Mohs surgery as a timesaving and easy way to harvest tissue strips of uniform width and therefore increase the intraoperative efficiency of the procedure.

Apoptotic and inflammation markers in oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy: preliminary report.

GOAL OF WORK: The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of pro-apoptotic protein p53 and anti-apoptotic proteins BCl-2 and MCl-1, as well as the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) in patients developing mucositis during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients receiving radiotherapy for head/neck cancer were included in this study. Patients were examined before radiotherapy. Oral mucositis was recorded weekly during radiotherapy. Cytologic smears from the oral cavity were taken with a brush. Immunocytochemical staining was performed by the use of p53, BCl-2, MCl-1 TNF and IL-1beta monoclonal antibodies. MAIN RESULTS: P53 was expressed in 1 of 15 smears before the initiation of radiotherapy (6.5%) compared to 3 of 7 smears from patients with grade III mucositis (43%) during radiotherapy. BCl-2 was expressed in 15 of 15 smears before radiotherapy (100%) and in three of seven patients with grade III mucositis (43%) during radiotherapy. MCl-1 was expressed in 10 of 14 samples before radiotherapy (71.5%) and in two of seven patients with grade III (28.5%) mucositis during radiotherapy. TNF was expressed in 9 of 14 patients before radiotherapy (64%) and in six of seven patients with grade III mucositis during radiotherapy (86%). IL-1beta was detected in 7 of 14 patients before radiotherapy (50%) compared to 6 of 7 patients with grade III mucositis during radiotherapy (86%). CONCLUSION: Our preliminary results indicate an induction of apoptosis and inflammation in the oral mucosa in patients developing mucositis during radiotherapy for head/neck cancer.

Traumatic bone cyst of the mandible of possible iatrogenic origin: a case report and brief review of the literature.

The traumatic bone cyst (TBC) is an uncommon nonepithelial lined cavity of the jaws. The lesion is mainly diagnosed in young patients most frequently during the second decade of life. The majority of TBCs are located in the mandibular body between the canine and the third molar. Clinically, the lesion is asymptomatic in the majority of cases and is often accidentally discovered on routine radiological examination usually as an unilocular radiolucent area with a "scalloping effect". The definite diagnosis of traumatic cyst is invariably achieved at surgery. Since material for histologic examination may be scant or non-existent, it is very often difficult for a definite histologic diagnosis to be achieved. We present a well documented radiographically and histopathologically atypical case of TBC involving the ramus of the mandible, which is also of possible iatrogenic origin. The literature is briefly reviewed.