[Melanoma within tattoos: Two cases and a systematic literature review]. / Mélanomes sur tatouage : deux observations et revue systématique de la littérature.

BACKGROUND: There have been reports of malignant melanoma arising within tattoos. However, there is no clear relationship between tattoos and the development of cutaneous malignancies. We report two new cases of melanoma and provide a review of cases of melanoma reported in the medical literature. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Case No. 1: a 61-year-old patient consulted following the appearance one year ago of a nodular lesion measuring 4.5×3cm on a blue and red tattoo on his back. Complete excision of the lesion with histological analysis revealed an ulcerated nodular melanoma with a Breslow depth of 7mm. No secondary sites were found. Case No. 2: a 39-year-old patient with a blue tattoo on his left arm consulted following the appearance of a pigmented lesion a few months earlier. Surgical excision was immediately performed, confirming the diagnosis of SSM, with a Breslow depth of 0.9mm. There was no sign of relapse 9 years later. DISCUSSION: In our systematic review we noted 34 cases of melanoma occurring in tattoos. There was a high male prevalence (90.3%) and a relatively young mean age (45.9 years). Most tattoos were monochrome (71.0%). The average time between tattooing and onset of melanoma was 13.2 years. The most common sites of melanoma were the upper limbs (53.1%) and trunk (34.4%). Mean tumor size was 11.6mm. Histologic examination revealed 2 cases of melanoma in situ, and in 13 cases, the Breslow depth was 1mm or less. In 5 cases, macroscopic or microscopic lymph node metastasis (sentinel lymph node) was found at diagnosis, and in one case, in transit skin metastases were also observed at the time of diagnosis. We discuss the hypothetical pathogenic role of tattoos in melanoma.

[Linear cystic lesion of the median raphe in an 11-year-old child]. / Lésion linéaire kystique du raphé médian chez un enfant de 11 ans.

BACKGROUND: Median raphe cysts are rare benign lesions of the male genitalia. They may be present along the entire raphe, from the urethral meatus to the anus, in the median position. We report herein a case of median raphe cyst with an atypical clinical and histological presentation. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An 11-year-old boy consulted in dermatology for an asymptomatic perineal lesion. The clinical examination revealed a linear cystic lesion with clear content extending from the base of the scrotum to the anus. The histological diagnosis was a superficial dermal glandular cyst suggestive of a possibly apocrine origin in this topography, or possibly due to malformation. DISCUSSION: Different clinical and histological features of median raphe cysts have been reported in the literature. Treatment is mainly surgical.

[Cutaneous tuberculosis and erythema induratum: a retrospective study of 13 cases in France]. / Tuberculose cutanée et érythème induré de Bazin: étude rétrospective de 13 cas.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is the most common mycobacterial disease in the world. The cutaneous form is rare in low endemic countries. The occurrence of several cutaneous tuberculosis cases in our dermatology department during 2011-2012 led us to investigate whether there was a resurgence of cutaneous tuberculosis in France. The aim was to analyse changes in cutaneous tuberculosis and the related clinical, microbiological and therapeutic data. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study in our hospital between 2005 and 2012 by querying the PMSI database (code: A 18.4). Epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic data were collected. Erythema induratum was regarded as a variety of cutaneous tuberculosis. RESULTS: Thirteen patients presented cutaneous tuberculosis between 2005 and 2012. The most frequent clinical forms were erythema induratum of Bazin (n=6) and scrofuloderma (n=3). Microbiological evidence was provided in only 4 cases. DISCUSSION: Diagnosis is difficult due to the varied clinical forms and to the relatively high frequency of paucibacillary forms. Further, the set of additional examinations is non-specific. In some cases, it is only therapeutic tests that allow diagnosis to be made. The place of new diagnostic tools must be clarified and a universally acceptable definition of erythema induratum devised.

Massive rectal bleeding distant from a blunt car trauma.

Mesenteric trauma is one of the possible injuries caused by the use of seat belts in case of motor vehicle crash. We report here a rare case of rectal bleeding by rupture of a mesosigmoid haematoma. An emergent laparotomy revealed a mesosigmoid haematoma with a centimetric rectal perforation. The wearing of safety belts added some specific blunt abdominal trauma, which directly depends on lap-and-sash belts. Mesenteric injuries are found out up to 5% of blunt abdominal traumas. "Seat belt mark" leads the surgical team to strongly suspect an intra-abdominal trauma. When "seat belt mark" sign is found, in patients with mild to severe blunt car injuries, CT-scan has to be realised to eliminate intra-abdominal complications, including mesenteric and mesosigmoid ones. In case of proved mesenteric haematoma associated to intestinal bleeding, a surgical treatment must be considered as first choice. Conservative approach remains possible in stable patients but surgical exploration remains necessary in unstable patients with active bleeding.

[Long-term efficacy of autologous stem cell transplantation for stage IV mycosis fungoides]. / Efficacité a long terme d'une autogreffe de cellules souches au cours d'un mycosis fongoïde de stade IV.

BACKGROUND: Mycosis fungoides during large cell transformation to lymphoma has a poor prognosis with mean survival of 36 months. Autologous stem cell transplantation is rarely proposed in this indication. We report the case of a young man still in complete remission for transformed mycosis fungoides 14 years after autologous stem cell transplantation. CASE REPORT: A 25-year-old man presenting eczema-like patches since childhood was treated by chemotherapy for multiple lymphadenopathies considered as Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was referred with diffuse skin tumours and infiltrated patches. Histology of tumour samples revealed atypical T-cell infiltrate with epidermotropism and presence of more than 25% of large CD30-positive cells. Non-infiltrated patches showed small T-cell lymphoma with epidermotropism. Histological verification of a previous lymphadenopathy confirmed the diagnosis of transformed mycosis fungoides. Despite multiple courses of chemotherapy, the disease progressed, with neurological involvement in particular. Because of tumour aggressiveness, autologous stem cell transplantation was performed and resulted in rapid regression of the tumours, lymphadenopathy and neurological symptoms. Non-transformed mycosis fungoides patches persisted but were controlled with topical mechlorethamine. This patient is still in complete remission for tumour and extracutaneous lesions 14 years after the autograft. DISCUSSION: This was probably a case of juvenile mycosis fungoides diagnosed and transformed in adult age. Neurological involvement by mycosis fungoides is rare and usually carries a drastic prognosis. To our knowledge, this is the longest remission of transformed mycosis fungoides seen after autograft. It highlights the value of this method in aggressive transformed mycosis fungoides, especially in patients ineligible for allograft.

[Pseudo-autoinflammatory attacks of temporal arteritis]. / Manifestations d'allure auto-inflammatoire d'une maladie de Horton.

INTRODUCTION: Usually, temporal arteritis progresses as a chronic disease. CASE REPORT: The authors report the observation of a 74-year-old woman who presented with two acute flares of temporal arteritis with headache, fever and inflammatory syndrome, which have spontaneously resolved. DISCUSSION: The observations of auto-inflammatory attacks of arteritis disease are rare, but maybe underestimated. The pathophysiology remains unclear.

Docetaxel in anthracycline-pretreated AIDS-related Kaposi's sarcoma: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a potentially life-threatening multifocal neoplasm. Despite the significant decline in the incidence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related KS with the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), some patients, even those with a good immune restoration, still have aggressive disease. Liposomal anthracyclines or combination chemotherapy are widely used but adverse effects limit their utilization. OBJECTIVES: We studied the efficacy and tolerance of docetaxel in the treatment of AIDS-related KS after pretreatment with anthracycline. PATIENTS/METHODS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A retrospective cohort study was done. Nine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients were treated from 1997 to 2002 with docetaxel. Tumour response was evaluated using the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) staging criteria. Clinical and biological toxicity was evaluated. AIDS status with HIV viral load and CD4 T-cell count were measured at the beginning and at the end of the treatment. RESULTS: A major (complete or partial) response and a stabilization of the disease were demonstrated in seven and two patients, respectively. Grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were observed in four of nine and one of nine patients, respectively. One patient died after sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: Docetaxel has a good and rapid efficacy in anthracycline-pretreated patients with severe AIDS-related KS. Phase II/III trials should be done to compare docetaxel with liposomal anthracyclines as a first-line treatment.

[Vinblastine treatment for extensive non-X histiocytosis (xanthoma disseminatum)]. / Histiocytose non langerhansienne (xanthoma disseminatum) extensive traitée par vinblastine.

INTRODUCTION: Xanthoma disseminatum is a non-Langerhans histiocyte proliferation, described by Montgomery in 1938. This rare entity is characterized by skin and mucous membrane xanthomatosis, associated with diabetes insipidus and normal lipid metabolism. In this case report, vinblastine produced the regression of the lesions. OBSERVATION: A 51 year-old man presented in 1999 with a four-year history of progressive xanthomatous papulonodular lesions of his trunk, axillary and inguinal folds, neck and face (leonin facies). Treatment with thalidomide for 6 months was ineffective. A rapid extension of the lesions to the pharynx, larynx and trachea with dyspnea occurred and required a tracheotomy. Histopathological study showed a dense histiocytic infiltrate within the upper and mid dermis with Touton giant cells and inflammatory cells. The histiocyte cells were positive for CD68. Neither lungs nor hypophysis were involved. A treatment with 6 cures of cyclophosphamide was insufficient. Vinblastine therapy (32 cycles: 0.1 mg/kg/cycle) produced a spectacular regression of the mucous-cutaneous papulonodular lesions leaving cheloid scars. The patient required a transitory tracheotomy and a bilateral commissuroplasty. DISCUSSION: Prognosis of xanthoma disseminatum is in related to the mucous membrane manifestations (50 p. 100 of cases) and involvement of the upper respiratory tract. The response to any form of therapy in xanthoma disseminatum is unsatisfactory. Surgical excision or laser therapy can improve physical and functional aspects but the evolution is characterized by very frequent relapses. Treatment with antimitotic drugs seems to be ineffective in many cases. In our patient, vinblastine induced a spectacular regression of mucocutaneous lesions without neurologic toxicity. To our knowledge, this is the first report of vinblastine efficacy in this rare and severe disorder.

[Intravascular leiomyomatosis of the uterus. Two cases and review of the literature]. / Léiomyomatose intravasculaire de l'utérus.

We report two cases of intravenous leiomyomatosis, a rarely described benign tumor, which illustrate potential complications resulting from metastatic dissemination. Both cases were fortuitously discoveries. We discuss the diagnostic problems, etiological factors, therapeutic management and prognosis. Hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy and regular follow-up with cardiac and pulmonary monitoring were performed. Pelvic pain disappeared and the patients are recurrence-free. The main difficulties concerned early diagnosis, complete resection and prognosis. These cases illustrate the importance of careful pathology examination of all uterine myoma resection specimens.

CD30+ T-cell lymphoma in a patient with psoriasis treated with ciclosporin and infliximab.

There is a known relationship between the use of immunosuppressive therapies and the development of lymphoproliferative malignancies. These lymphomas are mainly B-cell nonHodgkin's lymphomas associated with Epstein-Barr virus. Most cases concern classical immunosuppressive treatments including ciclosporin and methotrexate. A relationship between the new antitumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha agents and lymphoproliferative malignancies is debated. Patients with psoriasis on immunosuppressive therapies, mainly ciclosporin, are considered to have a low risk of developing lymphoid proliferation. We report a patient with erythrodermic psoriasis treated with ciclosporin and infliximab who developed a CD30+ T-cell lymphoma. This lymphoma regressed after stopping these treatments. In this case, the anti-TNF-alpha agent may have played a role in association with ciclosporin in the development of the lymphoproliferative disorder. Whereas the combination of anti-TNF-alpha therapies with methotrexate has been well studied, their combination with ciclosporin has been evaluated only in a few patients. Psoriatic patients who may require anti-TNF-alpha treatment have often been or will be treated with ciclosporin. The combination of ciclosporin and anti-TNF-alpha warrants further investigation.

[Tropical fish salesmen's knowledge and behaviour concerning "fish tank granuloma"]. / Les connaissances et le comportement des vendeurs de poissons exotiques concernant la maladie des aquariums

OBJECTIVES: Mycobacterium marinum is responsible for "fish tank granuloma", a chronic and sometimes disabling skin infection, which in France would be the most frequent "atypical" cutaneous mycobacteriosis. Tropical fish salesmen are concerned about this disease because they might sell contaminated fish and be infected themselves. A review of the literature indicated that one quarter of the patients were aquarium workers. This original study tested the salesmen's knowledge and behaviour regarding "fish tank granuloma". METHOD: This national study consisted in an anonymous questionnaire with 24 questions. RESULTS: Among forty salesmen, six of them (15 p. 100) knew this human disease well. Thirty (75 p. 100) ignored it. Among the few salesmen (22.5 p. 100) who had studied to become aquarium workers, only one third were taught about Mycobacterium marinum. Eight salesmen (20 p. 100) were concerned about the human disease: three of them were personally infected and five others had known infected colleagues or purchasers. Most of the aquarium workers immersed their hands without gloves in the fish tanks every day. Only a few destroyed all the fishes from a contaminated tank. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the tropical fish salesmen ignored "fish tank granuloma" although 20 p. 100 of them were concerned. This chronic disease, sometimes disabling, should be better known by aquarium salesmen. The national tropical fish salesmen were informed of the results of this study.