Damián Ferrario

Outcomes in 11 patients with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans treated with Mohs micrographic surgery

Background  Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is an uncommon intermediate‐grade fibrohistiocytic sarcoma. It occurs most often in adults aged 20–50 years and is associated with local invasion and a high recurrence rate. Uncontrolled local disease or metastases may result in death. Treatment has involved wide excision, Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS) and other approaches. The purpose of the current study was to review our experience with MMS in the treatment of patients with DFSP over the past six years.

Síndrome de Sweet asociado a neoplasias

Sweets syndrome was described in 1964 by Robert Douglas Sweet, as an entity he named acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis. It is characterized by five main features: 1) sudden appearance of erythematous and tender plaques on the face, neck and extremities; 2) fever; 3) polymorphonuclear leukocytes; 4) predominantly neutrophilic dense infiltrate in the dermis, and 5) rapid response to steroid therapy. Sweets syndrome can be classified into five groups: idiopathic, parainflammatory, paraneoplastic, drug-induced, and pregnancy-related. Twenty percent of cases are associated with malignancies; 85% out of them involve hematologic alignancies and the remaining 15%, solid tumors. A series of seven cases of Sweets syndrome associated with neoplasms which were diagnosed from 2002 to 2006 is presented. Six cases were related to oncohematologic diseases and one to solid tumors. These results highlight the importance of the diagnosis of the syndrome, since it may predict tumor relapse or underlying disease progression. The timely use of diagnostic and treatment methods may improve the quality of life of these patients. The fact that oncology patients take multiple medications (a colony-stimulating factor) which may be associated with the onset of this entity must also be considered in excluding possible causes.

Mohs Micrographic Surgery for the Treatment of Basal Cell Carcinoma

INTRODUCTION Basal cell carcinoma accounts for 75% of all nonmelanoma skin cancer. Although various treatment modalities are available, the most frequently used option is surgical excision. Here, we evaluate the efficacy of Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of basal cell carcinoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS A retrospective review of cases of basal cell carcinoma treated with Mohs micrographic surgery between October 2003 and June 2009 was performed using patient records from Hospital Italiano in Buenos Aires, Argentina. RESULTS A total of 2412 basal cell carcinomas treated with Mohs micrographic surgery were identified; 50.5% were in women and 49.5% in men. The mean age of the patients was 70.7 years (range, 8-100 years). The histologic type of the tumor was solid in 65.3% of cases and in 89% of cases the tumor was located on the head or neck. Ten percent of the tumors were recurrent following previous treatment. A mean of 1.74 Mohs stages were used, with a mean of 3.81 sections. The mean size of the initial defect was 0.86 cm² and the mean final defect was 1.88 cm². The ratio of initial tumor size to final defect was estimated at 1.02. Over a mean follow-up of 32 months, there were 9 cases of tumor recurrence (0.37%). CONCLUSIONS In our experience, Mohs micrographic surgery is effective for the treatment of high-risk basal cell carcinoma.

Nodular fasciitis, a forgotten entity

Nodular fasciitis is a benign pseudosarcomatous, self‐limited, and reactive process. Based on its clinical and histological features ‐ a fast‐growing, solitary tumor with high cellularity and mitotic count ‐ nodular fasciitis is considered to be a benign mimic of sarcoma.