SummaryBackground: Capecitabine is an oral antineoplastic agent classifi ed as a pyrimidin analogue. It is widely used in diff erent types of cancers. Unfortunately, it does not come without a cost, as the drug may have adverse eff ects -largely diarrhea, but also hand-foot syndrome and loss of fi ngerprints in extreme cases. Case: We report a case of a 47-year-old male, which had been dia gnosed with metastatic rectal cancer and received capecitabine, developing a severe hand foot syndrome which led him to lose his fi ngerprints in spite of complete resolution of the syndrome after stoppage of the drug. Conclusion: This case highlights a rare condition that, even though not precisely a disease per se, may hinder patient's quality of life and must be recognised by the treating physician as an treatment related side eff ect.

Objective: Mammography is an inexpensive examination that has become a standard screening method thanks to its cost-eff ectiveness. Due to an enormous cost escalation of cancer treatment over the last years, the assessment of this method, especially in the settings of an emerging country, is a matter of serious concern. Methods: A search within the national health database was conducted registering the data with nationwide coverage. Data collection and analysis was commenced in 2010 with referrence to the year 2008 as the most recently updated period. The obtained information on mammography screening among Brazilian women was evaluated by subdividing the data in four groups according to socioeconomic status of the subjects. The study population was estimated to comprise about 2 million individuals. Results: More than 45% of Brazilian women older than 40 years of age have never undergone a mammography. The fi gures correlated with the income level, reaching an astonishing number of 62.2% in a group of patients with the lowest income level. Conclusion: Mammography has proved eff ective in early detection of breast cancer in women. This study suggests that the lack of compliance in breast cancer screening in Brazil, pronounced especially in low-income families, may contribute to the increasing mortality rates associated with the disease.

We report a case of an 83-year-old previously healthy female patient presenting with a swiftly evolving erythematous violaceous, infi ltrative, ulcerated onion-like mass with hyperkeratotic surface on the left ear lobe. The lesion was excised and resulted as an atypical fi broxanthoma, an extremely rare neoplastic growth, being a superficial variant of pleomorphic malignant fibrous histiocytoma. A brief review of dia gnosis, treatment and prognosis is discussed.

Background: The presence or absence of lymph node metastases is a very important prognostic factor for survival and recurrence in patients with cutaneous melanoma. Controversies remain among specialists about whether it is advisable or not to perform a sentinel lymph node bio p sy in patients with melanoma, although it is currently supported by most standard guidelines. We performed this study to identify which patients are more prone to having a positive lymph node test result in a population with high melanoma rates in the south of Brazil. Materials and Methods: We performed the study with 62 consecutive patients who underwent sentinel lymph node bio psies from 2003 to the early months of 2015 in the city of Blumenau-Santa Catarina, Brazil. Results: Breslow thickness, ulceration, nodular subtype, and Clark level IV were associated with positive sentinel lymph node group status (p ≤ 0.05). Discussion: Although there is still a controversy over whether or not this procedure should be performed, most gui delines still support its application. To lower the economical and physical impact, however, it is worthwhile to determine which patients are more prone to acquiring positive lymph node at presentation and, perhaps, in the future, indicate surgery for this particular group, who could benefit most from further treatment options.