BACKGROUND: Basal cell carcinoma(BCC) is the most common tumor of light-skinned people. Most of them are relatively innocuous, but some may cause extensive tissue destruction, and result in death by local infiltration of vital structure or metastatic disease. The bcl-2 is a protooncogene involved in tumorigenesis by blocking apoptosis or programmed cell death. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether there was a difference in bcl-2 expression in different histopathological types of BCC. Method: We performed immunohistochemical staining by using a monoclonal mouse anti-human bcl-2 oncoprotein in 28 BCC(nodular: 7 cases, micronodular; 3 cases, adenoid; 1 case, infiltrative; 9 cases, and mixed; 8 cases). Result: All 28 BCC expressed bcl-2, and the degree of staining was different according to histopathological types; poor prognostic micronodular(100%) and infiltrative(73.3%) types were relatively strong, and nodular(66.7% ) and adenoid(75.0%) types were moderate. Conclusion . These results suggest that the degree of bcl-2 expression in BCC seems to be dependent to the histopathological types together with clinical behavior.
Adenoids ; Animals ; Apoptosis ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Cell Death ; Mice

No abstract available.
Female ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic*

No abstract available.
Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second*

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer, but it rarely metastasizes. Metastatic basal cell carcinoma (MBCC) is rare in terms of incidence as well as absolute numbers. We present a case of 67-year-old woman who had a dirty oozing, ulcerated, tumor mass on the vertex and suffered from dyspnea and mild lumbago. The diagnosis of MBCC was based on clinical, radiological, and histopathological findings. To our knowledge, the occurrence of MBCC has not been reported in the Korean literatures. So we reported herein this case of MBCC of the lung and the bone.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell* ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Low Back Pain ; Lung ; Skin Neoplasms ; Ulcer

We report s case of angiokeratoma of the vulva occuring in a 36-year-old woman. Numerous grayish dark purple papulovesicular lesions, ranging from 0.2 to 2.0mm in size, were observed on the right labium majus. All lesions were excised under local snesthesia after the diagnosis of angio keratoma was made histopathologically. No new lesions appeared during the follow-up period of one year.
Adult ; Angiokeratoma* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Keratosis ; Research Report ; Vulva*

Atrophie blanche is a rare vasculitis reported by Milian in 1929, that is characterizel by small erythematous, telangiectatic purpura which developes central hemorragic curst or painful ulceration and heals with atrophic white scar several months later. It is seen more commonly in middle-aged women and become worse in summer. It manifests primarly on the lower legs, ankles and dorsa of the feet, rarely on the elbows and dorse of the hands, where are the areas of the poor blood circulation. This case was 45 year-old woman who had suffered from periodic painful ulceration on the legs, ankles, dorsa of feet k hands and. elbows for about 18 years. Histopathologic findings showed fibrinoid degeneration R partial occlusion in the capillaries and mild perivascular chronic inflammatory cells infiltration in the upper corium. The lesion was not so improved by systemic k local corticosteroid therapy for about 3 months,
Ankle ; Blood Circulation ; Capillaries ; Cicatrix ; Dermis ; Elbow ; Female ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Leg ; Middle Aged ; Purpura ; Ulcer ; Vasculitis

BACKGROUND: bFGF, a member of the fibroblast growth factor family, potently induces vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and decreased synthesis of the collagens. OBJECTIVE: For further investigation of the effect of bFGF on extracellular matrix homeostasis in the skin, we evaluated the expression of type I and type VII collagen gene at the transcriptional levels. METHOD: We examined that recombinant human bFGF affects the expression of genes involved in ECM synthesis and remodeling in human dermal fibroblasts cultures as judged by Northern blot analysis. RESULTS: The steady state levels of type I and VII collagen gene mRNA were decreased with age dependent pattern up to 0.13 and 0.44 folds respectively. The transcriptional levels of type I collagen mRNA were increased by TGF-B, treatment but markedly decreased by bFGF as well as TNF-a. But there were no synergistic effects bFGF and TNF-a on type I collagen gene expression. The levels of type VII collagen gene expression were increased by both bFGF and TGF-B,. The TNF-a showed slightly antagnostic effects on type VII collagen gene expression. CONCLUSION: The type I and VII collagen gene expression in dermal fibroblasts is clearly subjected to modulation by the cytokines including bFGF with uncoordinate regulatory pathway. In addition to its function of vascular proliferation, bFGF also may play a major role in physiologic skin condition and in repair process such as formation of a stable dermoepidermal junction during skin wound healing.
Blotting, Northern ; Cell Proliferation ; Collagen Type I ; Collagen Type VII ; Collagen* ; Cytokines ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibroblast Growth Factors ; Fibroblasts* ; Gene Expression* ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Methods ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin ; Wound Healing

Atypical fibroxanthoma(AFX) occurs most on sun-exposed area of the head and neck of elderly person. It has an excellent prognosis after conservative, but complete, excision. However, because of its potential, albeit small, for metastasis, it is widely regarded as a low-grade sarcoma. We present herein two cases of atypical fibroxanthoma. The case 1 was a 86-year-old female who had a small egg-sized, dome shaped nodule with eroive surface on the left cheek. The other case was a 60-year-old male who had solitry bean-sized, nodulo-ulcerative lesion on the vertex. Immunohistochemical studies revealed positive reaction for vimntin and a-antichymo trypsin. These patients have received completely total surgical ecis on and remained free of recurrence for a period of about, 2 years follow up.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cheek ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Sarcoma ; Skin* ; Trypsin

BACKGROUND: Several reports have demonstrated that TGFalpha and EGF are mitogenic for keratinocytes. Whenther its expression on epithelial tumors is a marker of malignancy or signifies an important step in the development of neoplasia is poorly understood. EGF receptors are also present in normal epidermis and epithelial tumors but their physiological roles are not yet understood. OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to examine the staining patterns of TGFalpha, EGF and EGF receptors on the npithelial tumors of the skin, and to investigate kinetics of expression of EGF receptors. METHODS: We performed immunoperoxidase staining(ABC technique) with monoclonal anti-TGFalpha antibody, polyclonal anti-EGF antibody and polyclonal anti-EGF receptor antibody on the formalinfixed, paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of benign, premalignant and malignant skin tumors. RESULTS: The density of the expression of TGFalpha and EGF was not correlated with the degree of the malignancy of the epithelial tumors and is neither constant in any kind of the tumors. However the infiltrative type of basal cell carcinoma(BCC) is stronger that its solid type on the expression of TGFalpha and EGF. All benign tumors demonstrated a diffuse pattern within tumor lobules. pression of TGFalpha and EGF. All benign tumors demonstrated a diffuse pattern within tumor lobules. Focal TGFalpha immunostaining was seen in three of 10 squamous cell carcinomas(SCC) and four of 10 BCCs. TGFalpha immunostaining was absent from the outermost one to two layers of tumor lobules of all keratoacanthomas. The specimens which increased the expression of TGFalpha and EGF tended to decrease the expression of EGF receptor. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the density of immunohistochemical expression of TGFalpha and EGF may be not dependent on the differentiation of tumor cells, and the pattern of immunohistochemical expression of TGFalpha can differentiate SCC from benign tumors such as keratoacanthoma. FGF receptor may be occupied by both of TGFalpha and EGF. With the receptors being occupied, a down regulation of the receptors may occur which results in decreased EGF receptor expression.
Down-Regulation ; Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Epidermis ; Keratinocytes ; Keratoacanthoma ; Kinetics ; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor* ; Receptors, Fibroblast Growth Factor ; Skin* ; Transforming Growth Factor alpha*

Richter's syndrome is generally accepted taht lymphoma or leukemia of low grade malignancy, during their course, may alter both their morphologic and clinical appearance and evolve into highly malignant neoplasia. The pathogenesis is not clear, however, dedifferentiation by the emergence of a new clone of cells of higher maligancy similar to the blastic transformation in chronic myelocytic leukemia is suggested as possible mechanism. A case of Richter's syndrome is described. This 45 year old female had been diagnosed as chronic lymphocytic leukemia by absolute peripheral lymphocytosis 5 months before, developed sudden severe abdominal pain and was received segmental resection of ileum under the clinical impression of intestinal perforation with peritonitis. Histologically, the ulcer margin was diffusely infiltrated by polymorphic cells composed of large atypical cells having vesicular nuclei, multinucleated giant cells and Reed-Sternberg like cells admixed with mature lymphocytes. These atypical and multinucleated cells of the paraffin section showed strong monoclonal immunoreactivity for IgG and lambda light chain by PAP method and was interpreted as malignant lymphoma, diffuse, large cell, immunoblastic, polymorphous.
Female ; Humans