Nodular scleroderma, also known as keloidal scleroderma, is a rare form of scleroderma that may occur with either systemic sclerosis or localized scleroderma. Clinically, this disorder is characterized by keloidal nodules that form in sclerodermatous areas. These nodules may histologically show the presence of keloidal collagen. Because of the rarity of this condition, clinicians may not be familiar with the clinical and histologic features relevant to this scleroderma variant. In this report, we describe 2 cases of nodular scleroderma.

The DAAS provides a standardized 10-point radiographic scale that increases with disease severity when using need for surgical intervention as a surrogate for severe NEC. For every 1-point increase in the DAAS score, patients were statistically significantly more likely to have severe disease as measured by need for surgical intervention.

BACKGROUND: Differences in risk factors for metastases at different time intervals after treatment have been described in several malignancies; however, to the authors' knowledge, no extensive study examining this issue in melanoma has been conducted to date. METHODS: The authors performed a nested case-control study of patients with melanoma who presented with only local disease. Patients in the case group included 549 patients who developed metastases 6 months after surgery. Of these, 320 patients developed metastasis within 3 years after undergoing definitive surgery (early metastases [EM]), and 70 patients developed metastasis 8 years after undergoing definitive surgery (late metastases [LM]). For each case, a control patient was chosen who had melanoma but who did not develop metastases in the same interval. Univariate and conditional multivariate logistic regression were used in the analysis of 34 clinical and tumor characteristics. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis confirmed previously established risk factors for metastases, such as increasing tumor thickness. In addition, the authors discovered that a personal history of nonmelanoma skin cancer (P ¼ .006) and a history of cancer other than skin cancer (P ¼ .020) also were associated with metastasis. In comparing the 320 EM patients with the 70 LM patients, EM patients were more likely to have thicker lesions (P < .001), ulcerated lesions (P ¼ .016), and a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer (P ¼ .024). CONCLUSIONS: In this study, 2 potentially novel risk factors for melanoma metastases were identified, and different profiles of risk factors were constructed for EM versus LM. These differences may be important in future risk identification and stratification for clinical trials and for the management and treatment of patients with melanoma.

Background Second hematologic cancers in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL) are well documented and include Hodgkin lymphoma, therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia/myelodysplastic syndromes, and transformation to diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Although cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) has been reported in patients with CLL, the incidence and comparison to expected rates are unknown. We evaluated the incidence of CTCL among patients with CLL or other non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) subtypes using data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. Methods We searched the SEER 13 registries for patients with a diagnosis of CLL and NHL between 1992 and 2008. Among patients identified, we evaluated the incidence of CTCL. Results Among 31,286 patients with CLL, the incidence of CTCL was nonsignificantly higher in men than women: 104.2 (95% CI, 50.0–191.8) and 28.1 (95% CI, 3.4–101.3) per 1,000,000 person-years, respectively (P=.06). Among 97,691 patients with NHL, the incidence of CTCL was similar in men and women (97.9 [95% CI, 62.0–146.9] and 92.0 [95% CI, 56.2–142.1] per 1,000,000 person-years, respectively; P=.84). The incidence of CTCL among males with CLL (standardized incidence ratio [SIR], 3.0 [95% CI, 1.4–5.5]), males with NHL (SIR, 3.7 [95% CI, 2.3–5.5]), and females with NHL (SIR, 5.9 [95% CI, 3.6–9.1]) was significantly higher than expected in the general population (all P<.001). Conclusion The risk of CTCL is greater in men with CLL than in the general population. In patients with NHL, both men and women are at greater risk for CTCL than in the general population.