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Introduction: Although therapeutic advances have improved results of cutaneous melanoma (CM), sentinel node-positive patients still have substantial risk to develop recurrent disease. We aim to investigate prognostic indicators associated with disease recurrence in positive-sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) patients in a Latin-American population., Methods: Retrospective analysis of CM patients and positive-SLNB (2010-2020). Patients were divided into two groups: Group A (completion lymph node dissection, CLND), Group B (active surveillance, AS). Association of demographics, tumor data and SLN features with recurrence-free (RFS), distant metastases-free (DMFS) and melanoma specific (MSS) survival was analyzed., Results: Of 205 patients, 45 had a positive SLNB; 27(60%) belonged to Group A and 18(40%) to Group B. With a median follow-up of 36 months, 16 patients (12 in Group A and 4 in Group B) developed recurrent disease and estimated 5-yr RFS at any site was 60% (CI95%, 0.39 - 0.77) (44.5% in CLND group vs. 22% in AS group; P = 0.20). Estimated 5-yr DMFS and MSS: 65% (CI 95%, 0.44 - 0.81) and 73% (CI 95%, 0.59 - 0.89) with no differences between groups (p = 0.41 and 0.37, respectively). Independent predictors of poorer MSS were extranodal extension (ENE) and MaxSize > 2 mm of melanoma deposit in SLN. Factors independently associated with DMFS: Breslow depth > 2 mm, ENE, number (≥ 2) of positive SN and CLND status., Conclusion: Primary tumor and SN features in melanoma provide important prognostic information that help optimize prognosis and clinical management. AS is now the preferred approach for most positive-SLNB CM patients.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive breast cancer subtype. There are neither universally accepted prognostic markers nor molecular targets related to TNBC. The histamine H4 receptor (H4R) has been characterized in TNBC experimental models, demonstrating its critical role in tumor development and progression. In this study, H4R expression was compared in breast cancer subtypes and correlated with clinical features using The Cancer Genome Atlas data (Pan-Cancer Atlas). The H4R status was further evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 30 TNBC human samples in relation to clinicopathological parameters. Results indicate that H4R was downregulated in basal-like/TNBC compared with luminal A and normal breast-like tumors. The higher expression of H4R was associated with improved progression-free and overall survival outcomes in basal-like/TNBC. H4R immunoreactivity was detected in about 70% of tumors, and its expression was positively correlated with the levels in the histologically normal peritumoral tissue. High H4R expression in peritumoral tissue correlated with reduced number of lymph node involvement and unifocal TNBC, while it was associated with increased patient survival. In conclusion, the H4R might represent a potential prognostic biomarker in TNBC. Further studies in large cohorts are needed to better understand the significance of H4R in breast cancer biology.

Undifferentiated pancreatic carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells is a rare tumour that has been published under a wide variety of names, including pleomorphic carcinoma, giant cell carcinoma, sarcomatoid carcinoma and carcinosarcoma, among others. For these reasons and its low frequency, the reports of these tumours are scarce and frequently lead to confusion with other entities which present with giant cells. We present the case of a patient with obstructive jaundice and a mixed cystic and solid pancreatic mass, accompanied by multiple hepatic lesions. The histological study of the material obtained by endoscopic ultrasound guided biopsy demonstrated a proliferation of atypical epithelioid cells, accompanied by a spindle cell component with marked pleomorphism and numerous osteoclast-like giant cells. The epithelioid component showed positive immunostaining with cytokeratin cocktail and cytokeratin 7. The spindle cell component showed coexpression of cytokeratins and vimentin. The osteoclast-like giant cells were positive for CD68. Protein p53 was overexpressed in both epithelial and spindle cell neoplastic components, and was negative in the giant cells. These findings permitted the diagnosis of undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas with osteoclast-like giant cells. This case outlines the effectiveness of endoscopic ultrasound-guided biopsy and the importance of morphological and immunohistochemical examination in the diagnosis of different types of pancreatic tumours, especially when they are in advanced stages and are not suitable for surgical treatment., Competing Interests: Mariano Villarroel, MD is a Consultant for Boston Scientific. No conflicts of interest have been declared by the other authors., (© the authors; licensee ecancermedicalscience.)

Thymic carcinomas are extremely infrequent neoplasms (15% of all thymic epithelial tumors). Basaloid carcinoma is a peculiar tumor that represents no more than 2% of those infrequent thymic carcinomas. Surgical excision is the recommended treatment. As it's extremely rare, there is no evidence of the impact of different modalities of treatment. There are no reported cases that did not include surgery as part of their management. We herein present a case of an unresectable thymic basaloid carcinoma treated only with concurrent chemotherapy and radiotherapy that obtained a complete remission and free of disease after 2 years., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

Thymomas are rare tumours characterised by their slow growth and capacity to invade directly by contiguity. While distant dissemination is infrequent, all sub-types of thymoma have the capacity to metastasise to extrathoracic organs. We present here the case of a female patient with a liver mass discovered 13 years after the removal of a mediastinal thymoma and after ten years from thyroidectomy for papillary carcinoma. The histopathological study showed that the lesion contained an epithelial component, which was immunohistochemically positive for pankeratin. It was accompanied by numerous small lymphocytes testing positive for TdT, CD3, CD4, CD5, CD8, CD99, and CD43. The result was consistent with hepatic metastatic thymoma sub-type B1, according to the World Health Organisation classification (WHO). Our case highlights the importance of morphological and immunohistological examinations in the differential diagnosis of visceral masses in patients with a history of thymoma. Given the infrequency of its metastasis and the increased risk of developing other primary tumours that these patients have, these studies play a significant role.

Background/objective: Papular epidermal nevus with skyline basal cell layer (PENS) is a recently described type of epidermal nevus with characteristic histopathologic findings, mainly regular, rectangular acanthosis and a well-demarcated basal cell layer with clear palisading and separation between basal cell nuclei and the first row of Malpighian cell nuclei. Although the first reports described randomly distributed lesions appearing sporadically in otherwise healthy patients, cases of Blaschkoid distribution, lesions associated with extracutaneous manifestations, and familial cases have been reported., Methods: We performed a review of the clinical charts of all patients with histologic diagnosis of PENS in our hospital. We evaluated epidemiologic, clinical, and histologic features. We then reviewed the literature with a particular emphasis on the presence or absence of extra-cutaneous associations., Results: Three patients with PENS are described. One had a single lesion, one had three lesions, and one, a patient with mild developmental delay, a curved penis, and hypospadias, had multiple lesions., Conclusion: The probability of having extracutaneous manifestations is 6.3 times as great in individuals with more than four lesions. Therefore these patients may need closer follow-up., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Erythrosis pigmentosa peribuccalis is an infrequent condition, with fewer than 35 cases reported in the literature, that affects mainly women. It presents as small papules that form a hyperpigmented plaque around the mouth and nose. Little is known about the etiology of this condition, its dermoscopic characteristics have not been described, and no effective treatment has been reported. We report a 15-year-old girl with this rare dermatosis who was successfully managed with daily calcipotriol, weekly topical ivermectin, and strict photoprotection. We also describe for the first time the dermoscopic findings of this entity., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

The pulmonary marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of bronchus associated lymphoid tissue of the lung (BALT) is a rare illness that can remain without symptoms. Radiological findings of pulmonary lymphoma are heterogeneous. In literature, bronchiectasis is only described in one patient who also had besides adenomegalies. We reported on a 48-year-old female patient. She showed symptoms consistent with dyspnea with productive cough; there were crepitant sounds in the auscultation. Pulmonary functional test has shown a severe restrictive pattern with a low FVC and DLCO. CT scan showed bronchiectasis in the medium lobule without adenomegalies. Echocardiogram was normal, and the laboratory findings only showed leukocytosis. There were no findings in the bronchoscopy, but the lung biopsy showed a B-cell pulmonary lymphoma (positive to CD20 and CD79a in immunostaining). A wide variety of radiological manifestations has been previously described; however, we have presented this rare case, with bronchiectasis, as unique radiological finding.

Objectives: To investigate the occurrence of microsatellite instability (MSI) in paediatric Barrett's oesophagus (BE) with the aim of identifying a potential marker for patients at risk for developing dysplasia or adenocarcinoma at a later stage., Patients and Methods: Endoscopic oesophageal biopsies from 6 pediatric patients harbouring BE and 6 age-matched controls were retrospectively investigated. After all of the samples were made anonymous, a 5-microm section was cut and stained with toluidine blue. A precise cell was selected and captured using a laser microdissection microscope. Microsatellite analysis was performed on the DNA extracted from the captured cells. Genomic DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction using primers for 5 mononucleotide repeats and analysed by GeneMapper software on an ABI 3730. DNA extracted from a formalin-fixed colonic adenocarcinoma known to have MSI was used as a positive control., Results: The median age of the patients with BE was 9 years. The relevant complaint was long-standing vomiting in 4 cases and history of dysphagia in 3 cases (1 case had both symptoms). All of the cases had a history of reflux oesophagitis with histological confirmation of oesophagitis. Reflux was associated with a hiatus hernia, obesity, and cerebral palsy in each of 3 cases, and with asthma in 2 patients. Histologically, all of the cases showed the presence of specialized intestinal metaplasia containing goblet cells replacing the squamous oesophageal epithelium. None of the cases tested showed any evidence of MSI., Conclusions: A single molecular marker that would allow recognition of those patients at risk for Barrett's adenocarcinoma has not yet been identified. The absence of MSI in our cases could be due to the need for a longer period of BE before genomic instability develops, or MSI may only arise in a proportion of patients. This does not exclude other genetic alterations, however rare they may be.