A 67-year-old man presented with grouped red papules with a smooth surface coalescing to relatively well-demarcated plaques on his left thigh, in the axillae and on the lateral parts of the trunk. The plaques were growing slowly, and the older ones had a frilled surface. A skin biopsy showed a zone of disappearance of the elastic fibres with a rim of giant multinuclear cells with fragments of the elastic fibres in their cytoplasm. This finding is typical of annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma (AEGCG). After corticosteroid therapy, the inflammation resolved, causing the frilled surface of the lesions due to the disappearance of the elastic fibres. Remission of the skin lesions lasted for 1.5 years. A second skin biopsy taken from the site of the previous lesion showed the absence of the elastic fibres, thus their phagocytosis was irreversible.
A 23-year-old patient presented with a group of 17 reddish-brown papules and nodules on the left shoulder lasting for 4 years. The histopathologic examination after a punch biopsy was repetitively consistent with the diagnosis of fibrous histiocytoma (FH). We use the term agminate histiocytomas for the first time to stress the presence of grouped lesions in one skin segment. Intralesional corticosteroids and cryotherapy were partially successful in this patient.
Malignant melanoma is the most lethal skin cancer whose incidence is increasing worldwide. Important is knowledge of risk factors, early diagnosis, long-term follow-up on confirmed melanoma cases and prevention. In this study, we tested melanoma patients' attitudes toward solar radiation and perception of the value of follow-up. The present cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in a group of patients diagnosed with stage I and II of malignant melanoma (n = 124). They were monitored for at least 1 year. The research was carried out by anonymous questionnaire. The results revealed that the respondents welcomed the opportunity of follow-up care. Its benefits were said to outweigh the inconvenience of repeated checkups. However, the esthetic importance of a suntan was still considered quite high. Substantial reserve was found in the use of sunscreen. The need for wide public education and the protection against excessive contact with solar radiation is evident. Regular monitoring seems to be just as important.
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