Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common cutaneous malignancy after basal cell carcinoma. Although the gold standard of diagnosis for squamous cell carcinoma is biopsy followed by histopathology evaluation, optical non-invasive diagnostic tools have obtained increased attention. Dermoscopy has become one of the basic diagnostic methods in clinical practice. The most common dermoscopic features of squamous cell carcinoma include clustered vascular pattern, glomerular vessels and hyperkeratosis. Under reflectance confocal microscopy, squamous cell carcinoma shows an atypical honeycomb or disarranged pattern of the spinous-granular layer of the epidermis, round nucleated bright cells in the epidermis and round vessels in the dermis. High frequency ultrasound and optical coherence tomography may be helpful in predominantly in pre-surgical evaluation of tumor size. Emerging non-invasive or minimal invasive techniques with possible application in the diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin, lip, oral mucosa, vulva or other tissues include high-definition optical coherence tomography, in vivo multiphoton tomography, direct oral microscopy, electrical impedance spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, elastic scattering spectroscopy, differential path-length spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and angle-resolved low coherence interferometry. (J Dermatol Case Rep. 2015; 9(4): 89-97)

Primary mucosal melanoma of the oral cavity is an exceedingly rare neoplasm which is estimated to comprise 1-2% of all oral malignancies. In contrast to cutaneous melanomas, the risk factors and pathogenesis are poorly understood. The predominate localization of primary oral melanoma is hard palate and maxillary alveolus. Dermoscopy may be utilized as an adjunctive tool in the clinical differential diagnosis of oral mucosal melanoma whenever the lesion is accessible with a dermoscope. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment, but it may be challenging depending on the location of the tumor within the oral cavity and its size. Adjuvant therapy with dacarbazine, platinum analogs, nitrosoureas and interleukin-2 have been utilized with low response rates. Imatinib may be effective for patients with with c-Kit gene mutations. Sunitinib and dasatinib have been reported effective in selected cases. Vemurafenib and dabrafenib are targeted agents for patients with BRAF mutation-positive melanoma. Ipilimumab, an anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 antibody and pembrolizumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting programmed death 1 receptor may be a feasible treatment option in patients with metastatic mucosal melanoma. (J Dermatol Case Rep. 2014; 8(3) Melanoma is a malignant tumor that arises from melanocytes and is most commonly cutaneous in origin. Extracutaneous melanomas are known to be exceedingly rare and aggressive neoplasms that embrace ocular, mucosal and leptomeningeal melanomas. EpidemiologyMucosal melanomas are estimated to comprise 4-6.8 % of all primary melanomas. 1The incidence rate for mucosal melanoma (MM) is 2.3 per million. 1,2The incidence of MM increases with age. Older patients have tenfold higher incidence of MM compared to patients under the age of 60 years. 2Primary oral mucosal melanoma (POMM) is excessively uncommon in prepubertal children. 3Although there is a slight male preponderance (1.2:1), 1,4 some studies have been reported higher gender distribution of mucosal melanoma for women, 5,6 other indicate that there is no significant difference between sexes in the incidence of this tumor. 2,7The incidence rate of POMM is highest among Asian men. 3,6 Among the Japanese oral melanoma accounts for 7.5 % of all melanomas versus less than 1 % in Caucasians. 8,9Pathogenesis In contrast to cutaneous melanomas, the etiology and pathogenesis of POMM is poorly understood and no etiological and intraoral risk factors, other than preexisting pigmented nevi, have been identified. 10,11 POMM are believed to arise from pigmented nevi, pre-existing pigmented areas or de novo (30% cases) from apparently normal mucosa. 9,12 Although Kahn et al 13 described transformation of a benign oral pigmentation to primary oral melanoma, a definite precursor lesion has not been identified. 14,15 In the oral cavity, mechanical trauma including injury from ill-fitting prostheses, infection, tobacco use has been cited as possible causative factors, but its etiological role seems unlikely. 30Amelanotic oral melanoma is partic...

Background: Loose anagen hair syndrome (LAHS) is typically diagnosed in girls older than 2 years who present with hair that "will not grow". Hair microscopic examination shows absent inner and outer root sheaths, ruffling of the cuticle on the proximal hair shaft and deformed pigmented anagen bulbs.Objective: The aim of the study was to assess whether there are characteristic trichoscopic features favoring the diagnosis of LAHS. Patients and methods:Eighty nine children patients were included into the study (24 girls with LAHS, 25 with alopecia areata, 20 with telogen effluvium and 20 healthy children). In all groups trichoscopy was performed. Trichoscopy images were analyzed for abnormalities in the hairs shafts, the hair follicle openings and the interfollicular area.Results: Dirty dots were present in all groups. A unique feature of LAHS was the presence of rectangular black granular structures which differs from dense black dots seen in patients with alopecia areata. This feature was observed in 71% of patients with LAHS. Follicular units with single hairs constituted 92,9% of hair units in these patients (65,5% in telogen effluvium and 53% in the control group). Solitary yellow dots were found in 50% of patient with LAHS and in 24% of patients with alopecia areata, but was not found in control group or in patients with telogen effluvium. Conclusion:The trichoscopy features favoring the diagnosis of LAHS are: rectangular black granular structures, solitary yellow dots and major predominance of follicular units with single hairs. (J Dermatol Case Rep. 2015; 9(1): 1-5)

This review updates current knowledge regarding the risk of viral infections, including COVID-19, in patients treated with cyclosporine. We also shortly refer to bacterial infections and parasitic infestations in patients treated with cyclosporin. Cyclosporine is an immunosuppressive drug, which is widely used in medicine, including in the treatment of autoimmune skin diseases in dermatology, rheumatology, ophthalmology and nephrology, and in organ transplantation. A usual concern associated with immunosuppressive treatment is the potential risk of infections. Interestingly, several data indicate a relatively low risk of infections, especially viral infections, in patients receiving cyclosporine. It was shown that cyclosporine exerts an inhibitory effect on the replication of some viruses, or may have a potentially beneficial effect on the disease course in infections. These include hepatitis C, influenza virus, rotavirus, human immunodeficiency virus and coronavirus infections. Available data indicate that cyclosporine may have a beneficial effect on COVID-19, which is caused by the coronavirus SARS-COV2.

Introduction: Actinic keratosis (AK) is a precancerous skin lesion. Currently, many experts treat actinic keratosis as squamous cell carcinoma in situ. It is well established that exposure of the skin to ultraviolet radiation is a major risk factor for the development of actinic keratosis. Some studies suggest an association between keratinocyte cancers and photosensitizing cardiovascular drugs. The aim of this study was to establish an association between cardiovascular drug use and the presence of AK. Methods: A total of 400 patients were enrolled into the study (200 with AK; 200 healthy persons in the control group). The group of patients with AK consisted of 106 women and 94 men (mean age 71 years). The control group included 102 women and 98 men (mean age 69 years). An analysis of the risk factors for developing actinic keratosis was performed in all patients with AK on the basis of a detailed, standardized interview. Results: The statistical analysis showed that features independently associated with increased risk of AK included: age [ 80 years (OR 4.14; 95% CI 2.4-7.3), positive cancer history (OR 1.94; 95% CI 1.0-3.6), positive history of sunburns when \ 18 years old (OR 2.18; 95% CI 1.3-3.7) and taking angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (OR 2.28; 95% CI 1.2-4.3), angiotensin receptor AT 1 blockers (OR 2.90; 95% CI 1.1-7.9) and calcium channel blockers (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.0-5.3). Conclusion: In conclusion, our study presented an association between cardiovascular drug use and the risk of developing AK.