Soyun Cho

Characteristics of Vitiligo in Korean Children

Abstract: Eighty Korean children (ages 8 months–12 years) with clinical and/or histopathologic diagnoses of vitiligo were evaluated; 39 boys and 41 girls. The mean age at first visit was 7.9 years and the mean age at onset was 5.6 years. The most common site of onset was the head/neck area (58.8%), followed by the trunk and lower limbs. The children were compared with a control group of 422 adults with vitiligo. Children comprised 16% of the total vitiligo patients and adults comprised 84%. A family history of vitiligo was found in 11 (13.8%) children, compared to 10.7% in the adult group; poliosis in 20 (25.0%); halo nevi in 2 (2.5%), compared to 4.0% in the adult group; combined autoimmune and endocrine diseases in 1 (1.3%), compared to 7.6% in the adult group; and segmental vitiligo in 26 (32.5%), compared to 13.0% in the adult group. The combined diseases were significantly less often found in children than adults (p < 0.01), and segmental vitiligo was significantly more often associated with children (p < 0.0001). Our study did not show a higher prevalence of vitiligo in girls as reported in other studies, which may indicate racial differences. Of the total 502 patients, only 1 patient with segmental vitiligo had halo nevi. Sixty‐four percent of the children with vitiligo responded to treatment, compared to 57% of the adults.

Clinical and Histopathological Characteristics of Basal Cell Carcinoma in Korean Patients

Seventy‐eight Korean patients with basal cell carcinoma (BCC) between 1984 and 1998 were retrospectively examined at Ewha Womans University Tongdaemun Hospital, Seoul, Korea. We analyzed the annual incidence, age and sex distribution, site of the lesions, clinical appearance, including the proportion of clinically pigmented tumors, modalities of treatment, incidence of recurrence and metastasis of the tumors, the histopathological patterns, and whether solar elastosis, microscopic pigmentation, or adamantinoid feature were associated. The male‐to‐female ratio was 0.902, and the average age of the patients at first examination was 58.2 years. Eighty percent of the tumors occurred on the head and neck, most commonly on the nose (26.9%), followed by the cheek, eyelid, and upper lip. Ulcerated nodules were the most common clinical presentation. Clinically, 55% of the tumors were pigmented. Six tumors recurred; none metastasized. Surgical excision was the most common modality of treatment. The most frequent histopathological pattern was the solid type (60.3%), followed by the superficial (11.5%) and fibrosing (9.0%) types. The occurrence of the superficial type was significantly associated with truncal lesions (p<0.001). Solar elastosis was present in 62.1% of the tumors on the head and neck, compared with 8.3% in those of the trunk and limbs (p<0.001), indicating the significance of sun exposure in the pathogenesis of BCC on exposed areas. Microscopic pigmentation was seen in 69.2% of the tumors. The focal adamantinoid feature was found in 14.1%, which is much higher than the previously reported incidence.

Lichen Planus Pigmentosus Presenting in Zosteriform Pattern

Lichen planus pigmentosus (LPP) has thus far been described as a condition of unknown etiology which clinically differs from the classical lichen planus (LP) by exhibiting dark brown macules and/or papules mostly in exposed areas and flexural folds and a longer clinical course without pruritus or scalp, nail or mucosal involvement. Histopathologically, LPP shows the typical changes seen in LP, but with thinning of epidermis. We report a case of LPP that developed in a unilateral, zosteriform pattern on the left flank of a 49‐year‐old man. This case seems to lie in the middle of the spectrum between classical LP and ashy dermatosis, and, to the best of our knowledge, is the first report of LPP presenting in the zosteriform pattern.