Metastatic melanoma of the tongue: a case report with immunohistochemical profile

BackgroundMelanoma of the skin is characterised by a high metastatic potential, but reports of metastasis to the tongue are rare. We report a case of skin melanoma with metastasis to the lymph nodes, tongue and brain.ObjectivesThis report highlights the clinical and histological features of oral metastatic melanoma.Case reportA 72-year-old man was seen with a nodule on the tongue. The differential diagnosis included salivary gland tumour, lymphoma and metastatic melanoma. His medical history revealed treatment for melanoma in the periumbilical region and micrometastases in the inguinal lymph nodes. An incisional biopsy was obtained and histological analysis showed the presence of a solid, epithelioid malignant tumour of monotonous appearance infiltrating the skeletal musculature. Immunohistochemistry showed reactivity of neoplastic cells to anti-HMB45, anti-melan A and anti-S100 antibodies and negativity for anti-PAN cytokeratin, confirming the diagnosis of metastatic melanoma.ConclusionThe present findings highlight the importance of a complete medical evaluation of the patient by anamnesis to identify possible oral repercussions of primary diseases in other organs and/or systems.

Fibroblastos associados ao câncer e correlação com parãmetros patológicos em melanomas cutâneos caninos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Prevalence of precancerous skin lesions and non-melanoma skin cancer in Japanese-Brazilians in Bauru, São Paulo State, Brazil

Manifestações cutâneas pré-neoplásicas e neoplásicas em asiáticos são infreqüentes e pouco documentadas. O Brasil possui o maior contingente de imigrantes japoneses e 70% deles residem no Estado de São Paulo. A prevalência dessas lesões em nipo-brasileiros é desconhecida. O presente estudo tem como objetivo avaliar a prevalência de queratoses actínicas e tumores cutâneos não melanomas em nipo-brasileiros acima de trinta anos de 1ª geração ou 2ª geração, sem miscigenação, residentes na cidade de Bauru, no ano de 2006. Dos 567 nipo-brasileiros submetidos a exame dermatológico, diagnosticou-se queratose actínica em 76 pacientes, com média de idade de 68,9 anos, e único carcinoma basocelular em paciente do sexo feminino de 39 anos. No Japão, a prevalência de queratose actínica é de 0,76% a 5% e a incidência de tumores cutâneos não melanomas é de 1,2 a 5,4/100 mil. Os nipo-brasileiros de Bauru apresentaram prevalência de 13,4% de queratoses actínicas e idade mais precoce de aparecimento. Proximidade com o Equador e atividades rurais contribuem para esses achados. A presença de melanose solar demonstrou risco 1,9 vez maior de desenvolver queratose actínica.

Kras oncogene analysis of non-melanoma skin tumors in Southeastern Brazil

Skin cancers are the most common human malignant neoplasia and their incidence is growing, chiefly in tropical countries. There is evidence that ultraviolet (UV) radiation present in sunlight is important for genetic damage. Mutations due to such damage could be responsible for alterations in oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Recent studies have reported remarkable differences in mutation frequency of the RAS proto-oncogene in non-melanoma skin cancers. These findings may reflect differences in the molecular epidemiology of cutaneous tumors found in geographical areas with diverse sun exposure and ethnical origins of their populations. Our study proposed to perform molecular analyses of skin tumors on patients living in southeastern Brazil, in areas with high levels of sun exposure. DNA from eight solar keratose (SK), 26 basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and 19 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) was submitted to PCR-SSCP analysis for codons 12, 13 and 61. Contradicting other authors, we found no mutations in codons 12,13 but detected two BCCs and one SCC with a mutation in codon 61. These findings suggest that the activation of KRAS oncogene may contribute to the pathogenicity of cutaneous lesions in southeastern Brazil.

Role of ROC1 protein in the control of cyclin D1 protein expression in skin melanomas

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Anti-proliferative and cytotoxic activity of pentadactylin isolated from Leptodactylus labyrinthicus on melanoma cells

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Investigation of the cytocidal potential of Rhinella jimi skin methanol extracts

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Catecholamine effects on human melanoma cells evoked by α1-adrenoceptors

The biological effects of catecholamines in mammalian pigment cells are poorly understood. Our previous results showed the presence of α1-adrenoceptors in SK-Mel 23 human melanoma cells. The aims of this work were to (1) characterize catecholamine effects on proliferation, tyrosinase activity and expression, (2) identify the α1- adrenoceptor subtypes, and (3) verify whether chronic norepinephrine (NE) treatment modified the types and/or pharmacological characteristics of adrenoceptors present in SK-Mel 23 human melanoma cells. Cells treated with the aradrenergic agonist, phenylephrine (PHE, 10-5 or 10-4 M), for 24-72 h, exhibited decreased cell proliferation and enhanced tyrosinase activity, but unaltered tyrosinase expression as compared with the control. The proliferation and tyrosinase activity responses were inhibited by the α1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin, suggesting they were evoked by α1-adrenoceptors. The presence of actinomycin D, a transcription inhibitor, did not diminish PHE-induced effects. RT-PCR assays, followed by cloning and sequencing, demonstrated the presence of α1A- and α1B-adrenoceptor subtypes. NE-treated cells (24 or 72 h) were used in competition assays, and showed no significant change in the competition curves of α1-adrenoceptors as compared with control curves. Other adrenoceptor subtypes were not identified in these cells, and NE pretreatment did not induce their expression. In conclusion, the activation of SK-Mel 23 human melanoma α1- radrenoceptors elicit biological effects, such as proliferation decrease and tyrosinase activity increase. Desensitization or expression of other adrenoceptor subtypes after chronic NE treatment were not observed.

Técnicas de imagem para triagem de melanoma

Pós-graduação em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (Biotecnologia Médica) - FMB

Estudo do perfil epidemiológico do melanoma cutâneo na cidade de Jaú-SP através do registro de base populacional

Pós-graduação em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (Biotecnologia Médica) - FMB

Immunoexpression of S100A4 in canine skin melanomas and correlation with histopathological parameters

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Epitheliotropic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma associated with melanoma in a dog: case report

Several types of tumors affect dogs' skin. Simultaneously occurring neoplasms with different histological patterns might be rarely present in the same animal. This paper describes the occurrence of epitheliotropic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and melanoma in a dog. The animal had nodular lesions in the abdominal region and serpiginous plaques on the dorsal region of the trunk. Cytology evidenced malignant fusiform cells from the abdominal lesions as well as few round cells from the dorsal. The histopathological examination of the abdominal lesions showed dermis with polygonal to spindle-shaped neoplastic cells. The lesion of the dorsal region evidenced neoplastic round cells with generally distinct cell borders and a moderate amount of eosinophilic cytoplasm. Abdominal lesions were positive for Melan A. Dorsal and forelimb lesions were positive for CD3. This study reports the occurrence of epitheliotropic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and malignant melanoma in a crossbred Boxer dog and discusses the importance of performing immunohistochemical profile to confirm the phenotype of the tumor.

Nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems for melanoma antitumoral therapy: a review

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)