The primary analysis of STEVIE demonstrates that vismodegib is tolerable in typical patients in clinical practice; safety profile is consistent with that in previous reports. Long-term exposure was not associated with worsening severity/frequency of TEAEs. Investigator-assessed response rates showed high rate of tumour control. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV: NCT01367665.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common type of carcinoma worldwide. BCC development is the result of a complex interaction between environmental, phenotypic and genetic factors. However, despite the progress in the field, BCC biology and mechanisms of resistance against systemic treatments have been poorly investigated. The aim of the present review is to provide a revision of BCC histological and molecular features, including microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation, with a specific focus on the molecular basis of BCC systemic therapies. Papers from the last ten years regarding BCC genetic and phenotypic alterations, as well as the mechanism of resistance against hedgehog pathway inhibitors vismodegib and sonidegib were included. The involvement of miRNAs in BCC resistance to systemic therapies is emerging as a new field of knowledge.
Alopecia areata (AA) is an organ-specific autoimmune disorder that targets anagen phase hair follicles. The course is unpredictable and current available treatments have variable efficacy. Nowadays, there is relatively little evidence on treatment of AA from well-designed clinical trials. Moreover, none of the treatments or devices commonly used to treat AA are specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The italian Study Group for Cutaneous annexial disease of the italian Society of dermatology proposes these italian guidelines for diagnosis and
Background: Syphilitic alopecia (SA) is mainly described in single case reports, and there are only a few epidemiological studies. Objective: To investigate the clinical and dermoscopic features of SA in patients with secondary syphilis and to record its actual prevalence. Methods: All patients with a diagnosis of secondary syphilis were clinically and trichoscopically evaluated in search of hair and scalp alterations. Results: Five of 12 patients (41.6%) diagnosed with secondary syphilis had SA. The ‘moth-eaten' pattern was detected in 4 patients (80% of cases): 1 had ‘essential' SA, whereas 3 patients had ‘symptomatic' SA. The ‘diffuse' SA pattern was found in 1 patient. Trichoscopy of the ‘moth-eaten' areas showed that alopecia is mainly due to a reduction in the number of terminal hairs. One patient with secondary syphilis showed trichodynia that regressed completely after antibiotic therapy. Limitations: The small number of patients included and the fact that none of our patients accepted to be biopsied in an affected area. Conclusion: Since SA appears to be present much more frequently than reported in the literature, when secondary syphilis is suspected, the patient should be examined for the presence of signs compatible with SA and the scalp should be examined by dermoscopy.
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