Sebaceous carcinoma (SC) is an uncommon neoplasm manifesting itself either in the eyelid or extraocularly in the head and neck area. Surgery is the standard of care. Irradiation is rarely proposed as monotherapy but is frequently administered as an adjuvant regimen following surgical resection. There is no known strategy concerning chemotherapeutic treatment in highly aggressive recurrent - or metastatic - forms of the disease. Our patient presented with an aggressive SC of the scalp recurring after multiple excisions and local radiotherapy. Chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin and docetaxel was then initiated; 4 cycles were administered, followed by capecitabine maintenance. Shortly after starting chemotherapy, dermal lesions had completely disappeared and radiological response could be seen. The patient experienced an extended period (>20 months) of complete remission. In this report, we show an excellent response of a highly aggressive SC after a combination of chemotherapy as for head and neck cancers.
Background: Squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas are both induced by chronic UV exposure. However, their predilection for specific areas of the face remains unexplained. Regional factors such as arterial blood flow may explain specific tumor localization. Objective: To determine whether in the fronto-temporal area of the face there is a preferential localization of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) at sites of arterial blood vessels. Methods: Twenty-two patients with NMSC of the fronto-temporal area were selected for this study. The clinical tumor margins were demarked based on clinical examination. Arterial colocalization was determined using both sonography and histological analysis. Results: Echo-Doppler analysis revealed the colocalization of NMSC with an arterial branch in 59% of the patients. Histologically, colocalization between NMSC and artery was found in 68% of the patients. When combining echo-Doppler and histological results, colocalization of NMSC and arteries were found in 82% of the patients. Conclusion: In this study, we found an unexpectedly high colocalization of NMSC with arterial branches in the fronto-temporal area of the face. These results suggest that in addition to UV exposure, pulsatile arterial blood flow may represent an additional factor determining the precise facial localization of NMSC.
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