The clinical and histopathologic characteristics of patients with ashy dermatosis (n=20) and lichen planus pigmentosus (n=11) were analyzed. We found significant clinical differences between both dermatoses, supporting our opinion that they are two separate conditions. Both dermatoses were histologically similar.

Cytologic examination is easy to perform, saves time, provides a rapid diagnosis, and can be considered, under experienced hands, reliable in the confirmation of malignant skin tumors. Cytology does not give much information about tumor patterns or subtypes which can be related to aggressive behavior and can be very important in further therapeutic decisions. Therefore, histopathologic confirmation is mandatory before any therapeutic maneuver.

No abstract

Mastocytosis encompasses a range of disorders characterized by overproliferation and accumulation of tissue mast cells. Mast cell disease is most commonly seen in the skin, but the skeleton, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow, and central nervous system may also be involved. We present a 10-year-old boy with diffuse cutaneous mastocytosis characterized by disseminated papular, nodular, and infiltrated leathery lesions. The patient presented with chronic diarrhea and malnutrition. Laboratory studies were normal except for an elevated urinary 1-methylhistamine level. The bone marrow aspirate showed a dense mast cell infiltrate confirming systemic involvement.

A 54-year-old male farmer was seen in May 1990 with a violaceous, exulcerated tumor, 2x1.5 cm in diameter, localized to the sternal area of the chest. The tumor had been present for 30 years, showing slow progressive growth; it was excised, but recurred 2 years before our initial evaluation. The tumor was again excised with a wide free margin. The histopathologic study showed an ill-defined, epithelial neoformation, formed by lobules of clear polygonal cells at the deep dermis and subcutaneous tissue; there was a second group of smaller cells with a basaloid aspect, a few of them presenting slight atypia. The tumoral lobules were surrounded by a myxoid material with vascular proliferation. The epidermis was normal. The histopathologic report was of a malignant nodular hidradenoma. No evidence of lymph node or distant metastases was found. One year after the excision, the tumor recurred at the surgical site, and an axillary lymph node showed metastatic cells. The lesion was excised for a third time and the patient was lost to follow-up.