Three patients underwent cranial irradiation as part of treatment for childhood malignancy. Two of these patients had acute lymphocytic leukemia and one had an astrocytoma. All had longlasting remissions from their childhood malignancy but 8-15 years later developed a basal cell carcinoma of the scalp within previous radiation portals. The basal cell carcinomas were all treated successfully using Mohs micrographic surgery. Follow-up of patients receiving irradiation for childhood malignancy should include periodic cutaneous examinations of previously irradiated sites.
There is evidence that topical tretinoin promotes wound healing, especially when the wound area is pretreated. In our study, 5 patients were pretreated for 2 weeks with 0.05% tretinoin cream to one groin or axilla, followed by electroepilation to both sides. Electroepilation created small, superficial wounds. Healing was defined as complete re-epithelialization. In all patients the pretreated side showed a significantly decreased healing time as compared to the nonpretreated side. Pretreatment of skin with topical tretinoin may be useful in reducing healing times of patients undergoing electroepilation.
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