Search

Background: The introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) has greatly improved the management of metastatic melanoma. Recent studies have uncovered a relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and outcome of patients with metastatic melanoma. However, conflicting results have challenged the relevance of this finding. In the current work, we aim to dissect body composition features of melanoma patients treated with TKI to evaluate their value as biomarkers., Patients and Methods: We analyze body composition features via CT scans in a retrospective cohort of 57 patients with non-resectable stage III/IV melanoma receiving first-line treatment with TKI in our department, focusing on the impact of body composition on treatment efficacy and occurrence of adverse events., Results: In uni- and multivariate analyses, we identify an association between the visceral adipose tissue gauge index (VATGI) and survival. We furthermore profile additional body composition features including sarcopenia, which was also associated with a shorter overall survival. Finally, we detected an enrichment of cases with fatigue in patients with low VATGI., Conclusions: Our study represents the first exploratory study evaluating the suitability of body composition measurements as biomarkers for melanoma patients treated with TKI. Our data suggest a putative use of VATGI as a biomarker predicting patient outcome., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal der Deutschen Dermatologischen Gesellschaft published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH on behalf of Deutsche Dermatologische Gesellschaft.)

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a cutaneous autoimmune disease predominantly affecting older patients which can cause death either due to severe clinical manifestations or due to the side effects of systemic immunosuppressive treatment. Topical treatment with corticosteroids is an established alternative to systemic treatment. However, prolonged application is accompanied by side effects such as skin atrophy. Recently, the immunomodulatory calcineurin antagonists tacrolimus and pimecrolimus have been introduced for topical treatment of skin diseases. Tacrolimus has been reported to be effective in several inflammatory skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, lichen planus, lupus erythematosus and pyoderma gangraenosum. Efficacy has also been described in the topical treatment of BP in some cases. Here we present the case of a 89 year old patient with BP. He was treated with 0.1% tacrolimus ointment, which was able to control the disease. We briefly review the literature and discuss the potential role of tacrolimus as a novel option for the topical treatment of BP.

The treatment of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) remains a therapeutic challenge. In many cases, systemic treatment of the disease is necessary, especially in cases resistant to topical treatment or with internal organ involvement. Even though many different agents can be employed in this situation, most are not approved in Germany for the treatment of CLE. We give an overview of the agents used in the systemic treatment of CLE and review their mechanisms of action, indications and their practical use in cutaneous LE based on literature results and our own experience. We discuss corticosteroids, antimalarials, dapsone, azathioprine, cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, retinoids, cyclosporine A, mycophenolate mofetil, sulfasalazine, thalidomide, clofazimine, tacrolimus, immunoglobulins, monoclonal antibodies, plasmapheresis, etanercept, infliximab, feflunomid, gold and interferon-alpha.