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Clear cell sarcoma (CCS), first described by Enzinger in 1965, is a rare soft tissue tumor. Before this, this uncommon neoplasm had been misdi- agnosed as fibrosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, heman-SJ Jung, et al. giopericytoma, alveolar soft-part sarcoma, and hemangioendothelioma. It occurs most frequently in the feet and ankles of women in the second and third decades. The tumor is characterized by multiple local recurrences with late metastases and a high rate of deaths. It usually presents as a slowly growing mass and occasionally causes mild pain or tenderness. Symptoms may persist for a long time (mean of 5 years) before the patient seeks medical attention.
- In: Disease
- Tags: Clear cell sarcoma
A 57-year-old female visited our clinic with a chief complain of a skin lesion on her right lower abdomen of two years duration. She had a mitral valve replacement surgery 5 years ago, and is now taking warfarin for maintenance therapy. Other than this, there is nothing special in her past medical or family history. In the physical examination we found a pea- sized glistening erythematous nodule on her right lower abdomen (Fig. 1). This nodule gradually increased in size but there was no pain or tenderness. We performed a punch biopsy on the tumor. The histologic examination revealed that the neoplastic cells were divided into well- defined nests and groups by fibrous tissue septa (Fig. 2). The cells consisted of round to ovoid vesicular nuclei and pale-staining cytoplasm. In the immuno- histochemical staining the tumor cells showed positive reaction to S-100, Vimentin (Fig. 3) and negative reaction to Ki-67, CD34, SMA, Desmin. We performed a whole body PET-CT to ascertain the infiltrated depth of the tumor and the evidence of lymph node or distant metastasis.
- In: Disease
- Tags: Clear cell sarcoma
INTRODUCTION
Clear cell sarcoma is a rare malignant soft tissue neoplasm that usually arises adjacent to tendons or aponeuroses. It generally affects young adults with a predominance in women and mostly appears in the extremities, especially the feet and ankles. The clinical course is rather slow, with repeated local recurrences followed by late metastases and eventual death. Involvement of the abdomen is rare. Read the rest of this entry »
- In: Disease
- Tags: Clear cell sarcoma
Epidemiologic studies have shown an inverse relationship between presence of various cancers and dietary carotenoids or blood carotenoid levels. However, several trials using в-carotene supplements did not show protective effects against cancer or cardiovascular diseases. On the contrary, the high risk population (smokers and asbestos workers) in these trials showed an increase in cancer and angina. It appears that carotenoid can promote health when taken at dietary levels, but may have adverse effects when taken in high dose by subjects who smoke or who have been exposed to asbestos. In nonmelanoma skin cancers primarily consisting of basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, the effect of в -carotene on cancer prevention is inconsistent. The beneficial effect of carotene-rich food in nail abnormalities, as seen in our patients, may be due to a combination of different carote- noids. It may be the task of ongoing and future studies to define the populations that can benefit from carotenoids and to define the proper dose and length of treatment.
Onychodystrophy implies various pathologic processes of the nails including infectious and noninfectious disorders such as onychomycosis, psoriasis, and allergic and irritant dermatitis. Nail changes may also be a clue to other dermatological or systemic diseases. However, chronic idiopathic onychodystrophy is often seen without any associated conditions and onycholysis and onychorrhexis are two of the most common manifestations. Onycholysis refers to the detachment of the nail from its bed at its distal end and/or its lateral attachments. Onychorrhexis is the nail change that shows superficial longitudinal ridges and furrows with frequent distal splitting. The two are often seen together in patients with onychodystrophy. The treatment principle of onychodystrophy largely relies on the discovery and verification of the cause. However, the preventive treatment methods offer little help to the patients due to poor compliance, and the effect of corticosteroid is only temporary.
Ten patients with chronic idiopathic onychody- strophy included 4 males and 6 females whose ages ranged at the time of presentation from 5 to 61 years (mean, 36.3). The average duration of nail changes was 3.64 years. None had any family history of similar changes and no systemic abnormalities were detected in any of the cases. The number of involved nails varied from 1-20 (average 9.5 nails).
Patients with chronic idiopathic onychodystrophy visiting the outpatient clinic were evaluated. A complete clinical and mycological examination of each patient was done and onychodystrophy associated with any cause was excluded. Ten patients with chronic idiopathic onychodystrophy were selected for the study and a total of 85 nails were evaluated. We instructed patients to make a cup of carrot juice using about 200 g of raw carrot. The patients were recommended to drink one or two cups of carrot juice daily. Read the rest of this entry »