1.Recent global patterns in skin cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalence.
Mingyue WANG ; Xinghua GAO ; Li ZHANG
Chinese Medical Journal 2025;138(2):185-192
BACKGROUND:
Skin cancer is a common skin disease whose incidence and mortality rates have been showing yearly increases. In this report, we update the most recent data on skin cancer as obtained from GLOBOCAN 2022.
METHODS:
The incidence and mortality rates of skin cancer (melanoma of skin and non-melanoma skin cancer) in GLOBOCAN 2022 were reviewed. These data were analyzed and the characteristics of incidence and mortality across five continents and top five countries and regions in each continent are presented. In addition, correlations between Human Development Index (HDI) and age-standardized incidence and mortality rates of these two skin cancers are described.
RESULTS:
The GLOBOCAN 2022 data indicated that melanoma was the 17th most common cancer. An estimated 331,722 people were diagnosed with melanoma globally and approximately 58,667 died from this disease. For non-melanoma skin cancer, it ranks as the 5th most common cancer, and an estimated 1,234,533 people were diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer globally and approximately 69,416 died from this disease. The incidence of skin cancer varies across geographic regions and countries, with a predominance observed in Oceania, North America, and Europe. Australia was ranked first in terms of incidence, while incidence rates in Africa and Asia were very low. Despite these regional differences in incidence, there was little geographic variation in mortality rates. Currently, the number of deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer exceeds that of melanoma of skin. HDI was positively associated with the incidence of both types of skin cancers, with a positive correlation obtained between HDI and mortality from melanoma of skin and a negative correlation between HDI and mortality from non-melanoma skin cancer.
CONCLUSIONS
Skin cancer remains a major disease burden worldwide. Substantial variations are observed across countries and regions. Further research on skin cancer will be required to provide a rationale for more effective preventions and treatments of this condition.
Humans
;
Skin Neoplasms/mortality*
;
Incidence
;
Melanoma/mortality*
;
Prevalence
;
Global Health
;
Male
;
Female
2.Effectiveness of innervated medial plantar flap for reconstruction of soft tissue defects following foot tumor resection.
Wenchao ZHANG ; Luqi GUO ; Yan HAO ; Liangya WANG ; Chao ZHANG ; Yun WANG ; Jiuzuo HUANG ; Ang ZENG ; Xiao LONG
Chinese Journal of Reparative and Reconstructive Surgery 2025;39(9):1086-1090
OBJECTIVE:
To evaluate the effectiveness of the innervated medial plantar flap for reconstructing soft tissue defects, particularly in the weight-bearing zone, after resection of foot tumors.
METHODS:
A retrospective analysis was conducted on 12 patients with malignant skin and soft tissue tumors of the foot treated between October 2023 and December 2024. The cohort included 8 males and 4 females, aged 42-67 years (mean, 57.5 years). Tumor types comprised malignant melanoma (5 cases), squamous cell carcinoma (4 cases), arsenical keratosis (2 cases), and tumor-induced osteomalacia (1 case). Soft tissue defects located in the heel weight-bearing region in 10 cases and non-weight-bearing ankle region in 2 cases, with defect sizes ranging from 4.0 cm×3.0 cm to 6.0 cm×4.0 cm. Preoperative photon-counting CT angiography (PC-CTA) was performed to assess the medial plantar artery and its perforators. All patients underwent radical tumor resection with confirmed negative margins. The resulting defects were reconstructed using a innervated medial plantar flap incorporating sensory branches of the medial plantar nerve. The flap donor site was covered with a split-thickness skin graft harvested from the ipsilateral inguinal region.
RESULTS:
The operation was successfully completed in all 12 patients. All flaps survived completely without vascular compromise, partial necrosis, or total loss. Incisions healed primarily without dehiscence or infection. Minor skin graft necrosis occurred at the donor site in 3 patients, which healed within 2-3 weeks with routine dressing changes. No donor site complication (e.g., tendon or nerve injury) occurred. Patients were followed up 2-16 months (mean, 10.3 months). At last follow-up, there was no tumor recurrence. Flaps exhibited good color and texture match with surrounding tissue, restored sensation, and all feet achieved normal weight-bearing activity.
CONCLUSION
The innervated medial plantar flap, precisely designed based on PC-CTA localization, provides reliable blood supply and effective sensory restoration. It is an ideal method for reconstructing soft tissue defects after foot tumor resection, especially in the heel weight-bearing region.
Humans
;
Male
;
Middle Aged
;
Female
;
Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods*
;
Adult
;
Aged
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Soft Tissue Neoplasms/surgery*
;
Surgical Flaps/blood supply*
;
Foot/surgery*
;
Skin Neoplasms/surgery*
;
Soft Tissue Injuries/surgery*
;
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/surgery*
;
Treatment Outcome
;
Skin Transplantation/methods*
;
Melanoma/surgery*
3.Disease burden and trend of melanoma among middle-aged and elderly population in China from 1990 to 2020, and prediction for 2022 to 2035.
Lyuxin GUAN ; Ziqin GAN ; Guangtao HUANG ; Suchun HOU ; Yansi LYU
Journal of Zhejiang University. Medical sciences 2025;54(1):1-9
OBJECTIVES:
To analyze the disease burden of melanoma among middle-aged and elderly populations in China, and to predict the future trend.
METHODS:
Data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 were utilized to collect incidence and mortality rates of melanoma, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and corresponding age crude rates among the middle-aged and elderly population in China during 1990 and 2021. Additionally, the estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) was employed to assess the temporal trends. Age-period-cohort (APC) and Bayesian age-period-cohort (BAPC) models were utilized to compute age, period, and cohort effects on incidence and mortality rates of melanoma, as well as to predict future trends up to 2035.
RESULTS:
During 1990-2021, the incidence rate of melanoma for males was higher than that for females among the middle-aged and elderly population in China, and the overall incidence rate increased annually with an EAPC of 2.13 (1.90-2.36), while the overall mortality rate and DALY rate showed a declining trend with an EAPC of -0.28 (-0.41--0.15) and -0.54 (-0.68--0.41), respectively. The results of the APC model analysis revealed that age effects on both incidence and mortality rates of melanoma in China's middle-aged and elderly population were significant, with both increasing with age. Period and cohort effects showed an upward trend for incidence rates but a downward trend for mortality rates. Moreover, the period and cohort effects for mortality rates were not significant among females. In the BAPC prediction model, the number of incidences of melanoma in middle-aged and elderly people in China would increase dramatically. By 2035, the number of incidence cases is expected to reach approximately 9600 (males) and 10 300 (females), corresponding to an incidence rate of 2.66/105 and 2.67/105, respectively. The number of deaths is projected to be about 2600 (males) and 3500 (females) by 2035, corresponding to a mortality rate of 0.72/105 and 0.91/105, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The disease burden of melanoma among the middle-aged and elderly population in China remains substantial and is expected to increase over the next decade.
Humans
;
Melanoma/mortality*
;
China/epidemiology*
;
Aged
;
Middle Aged
;
Male
;
Female
;
Incidence
;
Disability-Adjusted Life Years
;
Bayes Theorem
;
Cost of Illness
;
Skin Neoplasms/epidemiology*
4.Clinical Analysis of Primary Cutaneous CD8+ Aggressive Epidermotropic Cytotoxic T-Cell Lymphoma.
Ping CHENG ; Jun GUAN ; Yan FENG ; Hui CHENG
Journal of Experimental Hematology 2025;33(3):777-783
OBJECTIVE:
To report the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of one patient with primary cutaneous CD8+ aggressive epidermotropic cytotoxic T-cell lymphoma (CD8+ PCAECTL), and to strengthen the understanding of this extremely rare type of lymphoma.
METHODS:
The clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment course, and prognosis of one patient with CD8+ PCAECTL admitted to our hospital were retrospectively analyzed.
RESULTS:
The patient is a 42-year-old female, with infiltrative skin rash on naso-facial and back as the main clinical manifestations. After pathological examination of the affected skin tissue, immunohistochemistry, molecular biology, and imaging, the diagnosis was confirmed as CD8+ PCAECTL, T3aN0M0 stage. Alternating chemotherapy with CHOP/HD-MTX (methotrexate, 6 g/m2) regimen was administered, and achieved complete remission (CR) after 4 cycles. After undergoing chemotherapy with DHAP regimen (cisplatin 100 mg/m2, d 1 + cytarabine 2 g/m2, q 12h, d 2 + dexamethasone 40 mg/d, d 1-4), the patient was mobilized for peripheral blood stem cells using recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and a sufficient number of CD34+ cells were successfully collected. Preconditioning was conducted with the BEAM regimen, followed by consolidation therapy with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT). The patient remained in a disease-free survival state after 20 months of follow-up post-AHSCT.
CONCLUSION
CD8+ PCAECTL is extremely rare in clinical practice, with insidious onset and difficult early diagnosis. It is mainly characterized by the proliferation of epidermotropic CD8+ cytotoxic T cells and aggressive clinical course. At present, there is still no unified standard for the optimal treatment regimen, and the prognosis is very poor. Consolidation therapy with AHSCT after achieving remission through induction chemotherapy can improve the survival and prognosis of the CD8+ PCAECTL patients.
Humans
;
Female
;
Adult
;
Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use*
;
Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous/diagnosis*
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Prognosis
;
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
;
Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis*
;
T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic
5.Characteristics and differential diagnosis of common verrucous proliferative skin diseases under dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy.
Lu ZHOU ; Yule FU ; Jian HUANG ; Zhen TANG ; Jianyun LU ; Lina TAN ; Dan WANG ; Jinrong ZENG ; Jia WANG ; Lihua GAO
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2025;50(3):358-365
OBJECTIVES:
Verrucous epidermal nevus (VEN), seborrheic keratosis (SK), verruca plana (VP), verruca vulgaris (VV), and nevus sebaceous (NS) are common verrucous proliferative skin diseases with similar clinical appearances, often posing diagnostic challenges. Dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) can aid in their differentiation, yet their specific features under these tools have not been systematically described. This study aims to summarize and analyze the dermoscopic and RCM features of VEN, SK, VP, VV, and NS.
METHODS:
A total of 121 patients with histopathologically confirmed verrucous proliferative skin diseases were enrolled. Dermoscopy and RCM imaging was used to observe and analyze the microscopic features of these conditions.
RESULTS:
Under dermoscopy, the 5 diseases displayed distinct characteristics: VEN typically showed gyriform structures; SK was characterized by gyriform structures, comedo-like openings, and milia-like cysts; VP and VV featured dotted vessels and frogspawn-like structures; NS presented as brownish-yellow globules. RCM revealed shared features such as hyperkeratosis and acanthosis across all 5 diseases. Specific features included gyriform structures and elongated rete ridges in VEN; pseudocysts and gyriform structures in SK; evenly distributed ring-like structures in VP; vacuolated cells and papillomatous proliferation in VV; and frogspawn-like structures in NS.
CONCLUSIONS
These 5 verrucous proliferative skin conditions exhibit distinguishable features under both dermoscopy and RCM. The combination of these 2 noninvasive imaging modalities holds significant clinical value for the differential diagnosis of verrucous proliferative skin diseases.
Humans
;
Dermoscopy/methods*
;
Diagnosis, Differential
;
Microscopy, Confocal/methods*
;
Male
;
Female
;
Adult
;
Middle Aged
;
Adolescent
;
Keratosis, Seborrheic/pathology*
;
Young Adult
;
Warts/diagnosis*
;
Child
;
Aged
;
Skin Diseases/pathology*
;
Nevus, Sebaceous of Jadassohn/diagnosis*
;
Skin Neoplasms/diagnosis*
;
Child, Preschool
6.N6-methyladenosine modification and skin diseases.
Ling JIANG ; Yibo HU ; Jing CHEN
Journal of Central South University(Medical Sciences) 2025;50(3):382-395
Currently, research on N6-methyladenine (m6A) is extensive in the field of oncology, while studies involving m6A and skin diseases remain relatively limited. Based on existing reports, we searched PubMed and Web of Science for literature related to m6A and dermatological conditions. Analysis of citation counts and journal impact factors revealed a significant upward trend in the volume of m6A-related research. Term frequency analysis of titles and abstracts indicated that studies mainly focus on skin tumors and inflammatory or immune-related skin diseases, particularly melanoma, psoriasis, and skin development. Transcriptomic data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) were analyzed, revealing differential expression of m6A-related genes in 4 types of skin tumors (including squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma) as well as in inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, and potential mechanisms of action were also explored. Findings suggest that m6A modifications exhibit heterogeneity between neoplastic and non-neoplastic skin diseases. However, the regulatory mechanisms of m6A dynamic modifications on key genes involved in dermatological disorders remain unclear and warrant further investigation.
Humans
;
Skin Neoplasms/metabolism*
;
Skin Diseases/metabolism*
;
Adenosine/genetics*
;
Psoriasis/genetics*
;
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/genetics*
;
Carcinoma, Basal Cell/genetics*
;
Melanoma/genetics*
7.Successful in situ 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy in a 53-year-old female with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.
Limin LUO ; Xiaoling JIANG ; Jianjun QIAO ; Hong FANG ; Jun LI
Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B 2025;26(9):915-922
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), as certain forms of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) or keratinocyte carcinoma, are the most common forms of malignant neoplasms worldwide (Sharp et al., 2024). BCC and cSCC have been identified as two major components of NMSC, comprising one-third of all malignancies (Burton et al., 2016). Generally speaking, patients with NMSC tend to have relatively favorable survival outcomes, while different histopathological subtypes of NMSC exhibit distinct biological behaviors (Stătescu et al., 2023). Keratinocyte carcinoma, although not considered as deadly as melanoma, tends to metastasize if left untreated (Civantos et al., 2023; Nanz et al., 2024). cSCC can evolve locally, then aggressively metastasize, invade, and even lead to fatal consequences in a subset of patients (Winge et al., 2023). A solid, pigmented, smooth plaque or a hyperkeratotic papule with or without central ulceration and hemorrhage appears to be characteristic of cSCC (Thompson et al., 2016; Zhou et al., 2023). Of note, a rare type of intraepidermal cSCC in situ often appears as a velvety, demarcated, slightly raised erythematous plaque on the genitalia of men (Yamaguchi et al., 2016). Accounting for approximately 16.0% of scalp tumors and with a rising incidence, cSCC is now the second most common NMSC in humans (Verdaguer-Faja et al., 2024). According to the latest statistics, up to 2%‒5% of cSCCs in situ may gradually progress into invasive cSCCs in the final step (Rentroia-Pacheco et al., 2023). Several risk factors for the carcinogenesis and development of cSCC have been identified, including age, accumulative exposure to ultraviolet light radiation A and B, human papillomavirus infection, arsenic ingestion, chronic scarring, xeroderma pigmentosa, a relevant history of ionizing radiation, androgenetic alopecia in males, and immunosuppression therapy (Martinez and Otley, 2001; Welsch et al., 2012; Mortaja and Demehri, 2023).
Humans
;
Aminolevulinic Acid/therapeutic use*
;
Skin Neoplasms/pathology*
;
Photochemotherapy/methods*
;
Female
;
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/pathology*
;
Middle Aged
;
Photosensitizing Agents/therapeutic use*
;
Carcinoma, Basal Cell/drug therapy*
8.Nasolabial groove through the skin flap repair nasal vestibular benign and malignant lesions Application of postoperative tissue defects.
Tongtong GUO ; Sitong GE ; Sijiao SHAN ; Meishan LIU ; Fuyu WANG ; Xian JIANG
Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 2025;39(3):265-271
Objective:To investigate the application value of nasolabial flaps in addressing tissue defects after resection of benign and malignant nasal vestibular lesions. Methods:The clinical data of patients with benign and malignant nasal vestibular lesions were analyzed retrospectively. There were 4 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 2 cases of black hairy nevus and 1 case of chronic proliferative inflammatory lesions, all of which were repaired by adjacent nasolabial flap. Results:After 6 months of follow-up, none of the patients developed nasal vestibular contracture or nostril stenosis, and postoperative nasal ventilation function was good. Conclusion:The preoperative design of individual nasolabial flaps is very important for maintaining maxillofacial aesthetics, protectingthe nasolabial framework, and preserving postoperative nasal ventilation function.
Humans
;
Retrospective Studies
;
Middle Aged
;
Nose Neoplasms/surgery*
;
Surgical Flaps
;
Male
;
Female
;
Adult
;
Nose/surgery*
;
Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods*
;
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/surgery*
;
Aged
;
Skin Transplantation
9.Application of different repair methods for defects after Mohs micrographic surgery for malignant tumors of the external nose.
Huilin LI ; Mei ZHENG ; Xiaolin WANG ; Huan QI ; Zhifei ZHANG
Journal of Clinical Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery 2025;39(9):830-835
Objective:To observe the effects of different repair methods in the defects after Mohs surgical excision of malignant nasal tumors. Methods:Twenty-two cases of external nasal malignant tumor surgery from January 2021 to May 2024 were selected as the research. The tumors were resected using Mohs surgical technique, and the defects were repaired using forehead axial flap, bipedicle flap, nasolabial flap, free full-thickness skin graft from the groin, forehead axial flap, facial kite flap, and composite flap of earlobe cartilage and perichond. The postoperative flap survival, external nasal morphology, and tumor recurrence were observed. Results:Among the 22 cases, there were 1 case of Kaposis sarcoma(KS), 2 cases of squ cell carcinoma, and 19 cases of basal cell carcinoma. Tumors were located at the nasal root in 3 cases, the nasal dorsum in5 cases, the nasal tip in 2 cases, the ala in 8 cases, both the ala and the nasal dorsum in 2 cases, nasal columella, the nasal tip, and the ala in 1 case, the nasal tip, the nasal dorsum, the ala, and paranasal area in 1 case. The size of the defects ranged from 1.2 cm×1.4 cm to 3.7 cm×4.8 cm. Three cases were repaired with forehead axial flaps, four cases with bilobed flaps, thirteen cases with nasolabial groove flaps, one case with free full-thickness skin grafts from the inguinal region, and one case with a combination of forehead axial flaps and facial kite flaps plus a composite of earlobe cartilage and perichondrium. All flaps survived well after surgery. Patients were followed up for 6 months to 3 years after surgery, during which no tumor recurrence was observed, and most patients were satisfied with appearance of their nose. Conclusion:Mohs surgery is used to excise the malignant tumor of the external nose, and satisfactory surgical results can be obtained by using different repair methods based the location and size of the postoperative defect.
Humans
;
Mohs Surgery/methods*
;
Nose Neoplasms/surgery*
;
Surgical Flaps
;
Skin Transplantation
;
Male
;
Carcinoma, Basal Cell/surgery*
;
Skin Neoplasms/surgery*
;
Female
;
Middle Aged
;
Plastic Surgery Procedures/methods*
;
Nose/surgery*
;
Aged
;
Adult
;
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell/surgery*
10.SG-UNet: a melanoma segmentation model enhanced with global attention and self-calibrated convolution.
Huanyu JI ; Rui WANG ; Shengxiang GAO ; Wengang CHE
Journal of Southern Medical University 2025;45(6):1317-1326
OBJECTIVES:
We propose a new melanoma segmentation model, SG-UNet, to enhance the precision of melanoma segmentation in dermascopy images to facilitate early melanoma detection.
METHODS:
We utilized a U-shaped convolutional neural network, UNet, and made improvements to its backbone, skip connections, and downsampling pooling sections. In the backbone, with reference to the structure of VGG, we increased the number of convolutions from 10 to 13 in the downsampling part of UNet to achieve a deepened network hierarchy that allowed capture of more refined feature representations. To further enhance feature extraction and detail recognition, we replaced the traditional convolution the backbone section with self-calibrated convolution to enhance the model's ability to capture both spatial and channel dimensional features. In the pooling part, the original pooling layer was replaced by Haar wavelet downsampling to achieve more effective multi-scale feature fusion and reduce the spatial resolution of the feature map. The global attention mechanism was then incorporated into the skip connections at each layer to enhance the understanding of contextual information of the image.
RESULTS:
The experimental results showed that the SG-UNet model achieved significantly improved segmentation accuracy on ISIC 2017 and ISIC 2018 datasets as compared with other current state-of-the-art segmentation models, with Dice reached 92.41% and 86.62% and IoU reaching 92.31% and 86.48% on the two datasets, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The proposed model is capable of effective and accurate segmentation of melanoma from dermoscopy images.
Melanoma/diagnosis*
;
Humans
;
Neural Networks, Computer
;
Dermoscopy/methods*
;
Skin Neoplasms
;
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods*
;
Calibration
;
Algorithms

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