P-100. Habits and prevalence of lesions in an oral cancer prevention program

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and characterises of oral lesion in individuals that participated in an Oral Cancer Prevention Program, and also to verify the habits related to tobacco, alcoholic beverages and sun screen. Methods: Seven-hundred and thirty-eight subjects were examined (354 women and 384 men), in Valparaiso, S.P., Brazil. A questionaire was used for the interview for information about habits and characteristics of the lesions. Results: The data showed that 11 % of the subjects had lesions, 13.58% extra oral, and 86.42% intraoral, mainly located in the buccal mucosa, alveolar ridge and floor of mouth. These subjects were sent to the Oral Oncology Center of UNESP-School of Dentistry. As for the habits, 24% smoke (57.7% of them smoke more than 10 cigarettes per day), and 21.4% drink alcoholic beverage frequently. Only 43% used sun screen. Conclusion: According to the results the population has to be aware of lesions, particularly with regard to oral cancer prevention.

Tropical dermatology: Venomous arthropods and human skin Part I. Insecta

Although many tropical insects carry infectious diseases, cutaneous injury can occur by other mechanisms, for example erucism (envenomation by caterpillars) or lepidopterism (dermatitis from moths). Pararama is a unique form of erucism seen in workers in contact with rubber trees in the Amazon, and it is caused by Premolis larvae, resulting in progressive periarticular fibrosis, ankylosis, and the loss of articulation. Ants and aquatic insects of the Belostomatidae family can cause painful bites and stings. Anaphylactic shock and death can result from the venom of bees and wasps. Beetles can cause vesicular dermatitis via cantharidin or paederin. Myiasis results from fly larvae (maggots) feeding on live or necrotic tissue of humans or other hosts, while New World screwworm fly larvae feed only on living tissue and burrow (ie, screw) more deeply when attempts are made to remove them. Tungiasis is characterized by very pruritic and painful papules and ulcers resulting from a Tunga flea penetrating the host's skin. Dermatologists should be able to diagnose and treat the cutaneous manifestations of these tropical insects and educate their patients on prevention. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2012; 67:339.e1-14.)

Feasibility of oncoplastic techniques in the surgical management of locally advanced breast cancer

Background: Locally advanced breast cancer (LABC) is still common in developing countries. The association between neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NC) and oncoplastic surgery (OS) might provide an oncological treatment with satisfactory aesthetic results.Purpose: The goal was to demonstrate if oncoplastic surgical techniques can be utilized to treat LABC which was submitted to neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Methods: This prospective clinical trial included breast cancer patients, clinical stage III, who underwent established NC regimen. All patients underwent preoperative planning to control the tumor size and to define the surgical technique. A detailed analysis of the pathological specimen was performed.Results: 50 patients were assessed and surgically treated. Tumor size ranged from 3.0 to 14.0 cm (median 6.5 cm). Pathologic response was rated as stable, progressive, partial response, and complete response in 10%, 8%, 80% and 2% of the cases, respectively. Seventeen (34%) patients were submitted to OS. No patient had positive margins. Skin involvement was presented in 36% of pathologic specimen.Conclusions: Oncoplastic surgical techniques for selected patients decrease the rates of radical surgery despite large tumors. (www.clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00820690). (C) 2012 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Differential response related to genotoxicity between eggplant (Solanum melanogena) skin aqueous extract and its main purified anthocyanin (delphinidin) in vivo

Anthocyanins are the largest group of water-soluble pigments in the plant kingdom. A number of studies have demonstrated that anthocyanins present antioxidant capacity and show inhibitory effects on the growth of some cancer cells. Thus, the goal of this study was to evaluate both the antimutagenicity/antigenotoxicity and mutagenicity/genotoxicity of aqueous extract obtained from the Solanum melanogena, a possible novel source of anthocyanin, and its main purified anthocyanin extract (delphinidin), using the single cell (comet) assay and micronucleus test. Pretreatment with higher doses of the purified anthocyanin (10 and 20 mg/kg b.w.) led to a statistically significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the frequency of micronuclei in polychromatic erythrocytes induced by cyclophosphamide. The pattern of reduction ranged from 48% to 57% independent of concentration. No apparent: genotoxicity and mutagenicity was found for either the anthocyanin or delphinidin extracts. Taken together, these results suggest that mice pre-treated with specific compounds present in anthocyanins (delphinidin) displayed a lower incidence of mutations induced by cyclophosphamide. This finding emphasizes the potential of natural colorants to prevent mutations and also the applicability of genotoxic evaluation for improving health. Furthermore, the results presented here could be an additional argument to support the use of anthocyanins in the diet. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Brazilian natural dietary components (annatto, propolis and mushrooms) protecting against mutation and cancer

Considering the high number of new cancer cases in Brazil (approximately 470 000 cases in 2005) and the remarkable differences in the incidence of this disease around the world, the development of chemopreventive strategies using foods widely consumed would have a huge impact, both medically and economically. This review summarizes some of our studies conducted to verify the anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic potential of some Brazilian natural dietary constituents (annatto, mushrooms, and propolis). Overall data have shown a clear role for these compounds in preventing mutation and specific preneoplastic lesions. Taken together, these agents indicate a favorable side-effect profile and may prove to be a promising alternative for cancer prevention strategies, although more investigation is needed to fully explore this issue.

Perineural Invasion in Aggressive Skin Carcinomas of the Head and Neck

Introduction: Perineural invasion is a well-recognized form of cancer dissemination. However, it has been reported only in few papers concerning cutaneous carcinomas ( basal cell, BCC, and squamous cell, SCC). Moreover, the incidence is considered to be very low. Niazi and Lambert [Br J Plast Surg 1993; 46: 156-157] reported only 0.18% of perineural invasion among 3,355 BCCs. It is associated with high-risk subtypes, as morphea-like, as well as with an increased risk of local recurrence. No paper was found in the literature looking for perineural invasion in very aggressive skin cancers with skull base extension, with immunohistochemical analysis. Methods: This is a retrospective review, including 35 very advanced skin carcinomas with skull base invasion (24 BCCs and 11 SCCs, operated on at a single institution from 1982 to 2000). Representative slides were immunohistochemically evaluated with antiprotein S-100, in order to enhance nerve fibers and to detect perineural invasion. The results were compared to 34 controls with tumors with a good outcome, treated in the same time frame at the same Institution. Results: Twelve (50.0%) of the BCCs with skull base invasion had proven perineural invasion, as opposed to only 1 (4.6%) of the controls, and this difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Regarding SCCs, 7 aggressive tumors (63.6%) showed perineural invasion compared to only 1 (10.0%) of the controls, but this difference did not reach significance (p=0.08), due to the small number of cases. Conclusions: In this series, it was demonstrated that immunohistochemically detected perineural invasion was very prevalent in advanced skin carcinomas. In addition, it was statistically associated with extremely aggressive BCCs with skull base invasion. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

Urethral reconstruction after total penectomy for urethral cancer

A 59-year-old white man developed a ventral ulcer with irregular limits in the middle portion of the penis. The result of the pathologic analysis was compatible with invasive squamous cell urethral carcinoma. A total penectomy was performed. In these cases, the usually recommended urinary diversion is perineal urethrostomy. However, due to the specifications of the case, perineal urethrostomy could not be performed. The literature did not offer any other alternative for patients with this same condition. Therefore, a urethral reconstruction using a groin skin flap had to be performed. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Computer-aided design of a novel ligand for retinoic acid receptor in cancer chemotherapy

The isotypes of RAR and RXR are retinoic acid and retinoid X acid receptors, respectively, whose ligand-binding domain contains the ligand-dependent activation function, with distinct pharmacological targets for retinoids, involved in the treatment of various cancers and skin diseases. Due to the major challenge which cancer treatment and cure still imposes after many decades to the international scientific community, there is actually considerable interest in new ligands with increased bioactivity. We have focused on the retinoid acid receptor, which is considered an interesting target for drug design. In this work, we carried out density functional geometry optimizations, and different docking procedures. We performed screening in a large database (hundreds of thousands of molecules which we optimized at the AM1 level) yielding a set of potential bioactive ligands. A new ligand was selected and optimized at the B3LYP/6-31G* level. A flexible docking program was used to investigate the interactions between the receptor and the new ligand. The result of this work is compared with several crystallographic ligands of RAR. Our theoretically more bioactive new-ligand indicates stronger and more hydrogen bonds as well as hydrophobic interactions with the receptor. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Second, primary tumours in patients with mouth cancer

Over the last decades, technical-scientific advances of oncology have brought about an increased survival rate for cancer patients. As a result, oncologists have detected an increased number of patients presenting with other neoplasms. This research aimed to analyze factors related to demography and to the anatomic site in patients having a FPT of the mouth who developed a SPT. Medical charts of 848 patients neoplasm admitted for treatment at the Head and Neck Surgery Department of the Hospital do Cancer, Antonio Candido Camargo, Brazil, from January of 1984 to December, were analysed. of these, 12 6 developed a SPT. 49.21 % were from 51 to 65 years of age, while 83.33% were of the male gender and Caucasian. Regarding FPT site 38.89% were of the tongue, and 28.5% were of the floor of the mouth. The esophagus, excepting skin (13.49%), was more often subject to SPT (11.9%), of these 74.6% were metachronic, 15.87% simultaneous and 9.52% synchronous.

Chromosome breakpoint distribution in nonmelanoma skin cancers

We have identified chromosome regions that may be sites of genes activated as a result of chromosomal rearrangements observed in 61 of the 86 skin tumors referenced in the literature. The data showed that most of the breakpoints were distributed throughout the genome and some tended to cluster. Highest frequencies of breakpoints were observed in chromosomes with high relative length, except chromosomes 14 and 15 that were more often affected in malignant tumors, despite their size. Our work provides a starting point for more detailed studies that may allow identification of these genes as important keys in the development and progression of skin cancers. (C) Elsevier B.V., 1997.