Melanoma is the most aggressive type of skin cancer and is associated with environmental and genetic risk factors. It originates in melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells. Single nucleotide ...polymorphisms (SNPs) in pigmentation genes have been described in melanoma risk modulation, but knowledge in the field is still limited.
In a case-control approach (107 cases and 119 controls), we investigated the effect of four pigmentation gene SNPs (TYR rs1126809, HERC2 rs1129038, SLC24A5 rs1426654, and SLC45A2 rs16891982) on melanoma risk in individuals from southern Brazil using a multivariate logistic regression model and multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) analysis.
Two SNPs were associated with an increased risk of melanoma in a dominant model: rs1129038AA and rs1426654AA OR = 2.094 (95% CI: 1.106-3.966), P = 2.3 10
and OR = 7.126 (95% CI: 1.873-27.110), P = 4.0 10
, respectively. SNP rs16891982CC was associated with a lower risk to melanoma development in a log-additive model when the allele C was inherited OR = 0.081 (95% CI: 0.008-0.782), P = 3 10
. In addition, MDR analysis showed that the combination of the rs1426654AA and rs16891982GG genotypes was associated with a higher risk for melanoma (P = 3 10
), with a redundant effect.
These results contribute to the current knowledge and indicate that epistatic interaction of these SNPs, with an additive or correlational effect, may be involved in modulating the risk of melanoma in individuals from a geographic region with a high incidence of the disease.
To assess how laparoscopy has altered the presentation of patients with gallbladder cancer and determine whether radical resection in patients with gallbladder cancer is beneficial.
47 patients ...underwent surgery because of suspected gallbladder cancer. Cancer was found incidentally in 29 patients (61.7 %) during routine laparoscopic cholecystectomy using frozen biopsy. Gallbladder cancer had been diagnosed preoperatively in the other 18 patients (38.3 %).
Patients in whom carcinoma was found incidentally at laparoscopic cholecystectomy had a significant increase in survival when compared with those who were admitted electively with a known diagnosis. All patients who presented with a known diagnosis had stage II or higher, and 38.3 % of these were in stage IV. However, 58.6 % of those patients who were found incidentally were in stage I or II. The overall 2-year survival for all patients was 45 %; those discovered incidentally at laparoscopic cholecystectomy (Tis-T2) had a 2-year survival of 87 %.
Laparoscopic cholecystectomy resulted in an earlier discovery of gallbladder cancer in some patients, resulting in increased probability of survival. Adjunctive radical surgical resection, either at the time of cholecystectomy or subsequently, increases survival significantly in early stage disease (Tab.2, Fig. 2, Ref. 24). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: gallbladder carcinoma, laparoscopic approach.
Loss of the intestinal barrier is critical to the clinical course of heat illness, but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. We tested the hypothesis that conditions characteristic ...of mild heatstroke in mice are associated with injury to the epithelial lining of the intestinal tract and comprise a critical component of barrier dysfunction. Anesthetized mice were gavaged with 4 kDa FITC-dextran (FD-4) and exposed to increasing core temperatures, briefly reaching 42.4°C, followed by 30 min recovery. Arterial samples were collected to measure FD-4 concentration in plasma (in vivo gastrointestinal permeability). The small intestines were then removed to measure histological evidence of injury. Hyperthermia resulted in a ≈2.5-fold elevation in plasma FD-4 and was always associated with significant histological evidence of injury to the epithelial lining compared with matched controls, particularly in the duodenum. When isolated intestinal segments from control animals were exposed to ≥41.5°C, marked increases in permeability were observed within 60 min. These changes were associated with release of lactate dehydrogenase, evidence of protein oxidation via carbonyl formation and histological damage. Coincubation with N-acetylcysteine protected in vitro permeability during hyperthermia and reduced histological damage and protein oxidation. Chelation of intracellular Ca(2+) to block tight junction opening during 41.5°C exposure failed to reduce the permeability of in vitro segments. The results demonstrate that hyperthermia exposure in mouse intestine, at temperatures at or below those necessary to induce mild heatstroke, cause rapid and substantial injury to the intestinal lining that may be attributed, in part, to oxidative stress.
Please cite this paper as: Nestin and SOX9 and SOX10 transcription factors are coexpressed in melanoma. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: e89–e94.
: Nestin is an intermediate filament expressed in ...proliferating neural progenitor cells and has been considered as a stem cell marker. Nestin is also found in melanoma and we recently demonstrated that its expression in melanoma cell lines is regulated by the transcription factors SOX9 and SOX10, but not BRN2. In this study, the expression levels of nestin, BRN2, SOX9 and SOX10 were analysed in tissues of melanoma (n = 78) and melanocytic nevi (n = 26) by immunohistochemistry. All proteins were highly expressed in primary and metastatic melanomas and, apart from BRN2, showed much lower levels in melanocytic nevi. Significant coexpression of nestin with SOX9 and SOX10 was found in primary melanoma confirming our in vitro data. Correlation analysis with clinicopathological data revealed that nestin was significantly associated with presence of ulceration in primary tumors and SOX9 with more advanced stage of disease. Our data reveal that SOX9 and SOX10 are highly expressed in melanoma and seem to have a regulatory role in nestin expression. The association with ulceration and advanced‐stage tumors, respectively, suggests that nestin and SOX9 may be negative prognostic markers in melanoma.
Abstract
Background
The influence of the novel human coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) pandemic on skin cancer characteristics in Latin America is still poorly elucidated.
Methods
This was a ...cross‐sectional study which included patients diagnosed with skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma BCC, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cSCC, and primary cutaneous melanoma cMM) during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic (from March 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021) and the preceding year at our institution. The total number of skin cancer diagnoses and surgeries, as well as their topography, clinicopathological staging at diagnosis, and treatment delay were compared between the two periods.
Results
There was a 31.8% reduction in skin cancer diagnoses during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic at our institution. There was an increase in the proportion of low‐risk cancers according to the NCCN guidelines for BCCs (40.8–49%,
P
< 0.001) and cSCCs (41.7–49.6%,
P
= 0.03), but there was no difference in the distribution of other staging systems for the three types of cancer. We also found a significant reduction in surgeries for BCCs (−57.6%,
P
< 0.001) and cSCCs (−44.7%,
P
< 0.001) but not for cMM.
Conclusions
The first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic was associated with reduced numbers of skin cancer diagnoses and surgeries at our institution. This study provides an assessment of skin cancer characteristics during the first year of the pandemic in the Latin American population.
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