Lislaine Bomm

Off-label use of rituximab in dermatology: pemphigus treatment

Since its approval in 1997 by the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration), rituximab has been used for certain B-cell lymphomas and treatment-resistant rheumatoid arthritis. Nevertheless, over the past 14 years, many case reports have demonstrated the efficacy of off-label rituximab in several dermatological inflammatory conditions. This study describes two cases of pemphigus vulgaris and two cases of pemphigus foliaceous that were treated with rituximab at 375 mg/m2 once a week for 4 weeks, and that responded well to treatment.

Biopsy guided by dermoscopy in cutaneous pigmented lesion -- case report.

It may be clinically difficult to differentiate early-stage melanoma from benign tumors, specially pigmented seborrheic keratosis. Dermoscopy can help; however, the findings are not always conclusive. Therefore, histopathology may be necessary for a correct diagnosis. We describe a melanocytic lesion with dubious clinic and dermoscopic findings. An incisional biopsy of a suspicious area, guided by dermoscopy, was performed to clarify the findings.

Retrospective analysis of melanocytic lesions in children at the National Cancer Institute-RJ

Skin cancer is the most common neoplasm in Brazil. Melanoma accounts for 4% of these neoplasms. Although childhood melanoma is rare, there is evidence that its incidence is increasing, placing it among the most important public health problems for the future. This work sought to conduct a retrospective review of cases of suspected melanocytic skin lesions in children, their diagnosis and management, and evaluate the sentinel lymph node biopsy method in some cases of cutaneous melanoma.

Primary cutaneous centrofollicular lymphoma with a good response to radiotherapy

Primary cutaneous lymphomas have different clinical behavior and prognosis than systemic lymphomas of similar histological subtype. About 30% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas involve extranodal tissues, the skin being the second most affected body organ after the gastrointestinal tract (approximately 18%). According to the EORTC (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer) classification, the lymphoma centrofollicular is indolent, since the lesions increase in size slowly over the years and spread to extracutaneous sites is uncommon. Based on this, radiotherapy has been considered the treatment of choice by many studies. We present the case of a patient who had cutaneous centrofollicular scalp lymphoma for 1 year and showed good response to radiotherapy.

Sarcoidosis simulating syringomas

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. The skin is commonly affected. Cutaneous manifestations can mimic other diseases and autoimmune disorders. The dermatologist plays a critical role in elucidating the clinical diagnosis and assisting other specialists in the investigation of a systemic disease. We report a patient with typical cutaneous manifestation of sarcoidosis with pulmonary involvement.

Use of cyclosporin in a patient with hepatitis C and pustular psoriasis.

Cyclosporine has been contraindicated in patients with chronic infections such as infection with hepatitis C because of its immunosuppressive effect. Recent studies have shown however that cyclosporine suppresses viral replication and thus cannot exacerbate infection with hepatitis C when employed for treating patients with psoriasis. We present the case of a female patient with psoriasis for 30 years and hepatitis C for 20 years, with diffuse circinate lesions. Improvement in the skin condition and liver enzymes was obtained with the use of cyclosporine, with no adverse effect.