Given its high NPV, the A-Score could become, if further validated, a useful clinical tool to identify those patients who do not benefit from anthracyclines and could therefore be spared the non-negligible adverse effects.

BACKGROUNDCutaneous melanoma is a highly aggressive malignancy with increasing incidence worldwide. The southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina has one of the highest incidence rates of melanoma in the country.OBJECTIVETo evaluate the epidemiological profile of melanoma patients in a southern city of Brazil.METHODSa cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted, aiming to detect the clinical and histopathological characteristics of cutaneous melanoma diagnosed in the city of Brusque - SC, between 1999 and 2013.RESULTSA total of 213 cases in 212 individuals were studied. More than 50% of the patients were females (p< 0.05). The trunk was the most commonly affected site (p< 0.05), followed by the upper limbs. Nodular and superficial spreading melanomas were the most commonly detected in histological analyses. They did not differ statistically in frequency, but were more prevalent than other histopathological subtypes (p< 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between invasive and noninvasive melanomas (p= 0.2441). Among the invasive melanomas, those with Breslow thicknesses < 1 mm and between 1-2mm were more prevalent (p< 0.05).CONCLUSIONSIn this study we found a higher frequency of melanomas in female patients and patients aged over 51. The trunk was the most commonly affected site. Nodular and superficial spreading melanomas prevailed. Among invasive melanomas, those with Breslow thicknesses < 2 mm were the most frequent. This paper highlights the epidemiological profile of melanoma patients in the city and may help to identify and aid in the follow-up of those who are most likely to present the disease.

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The tertiary stage of syphilis is nowadays extremely rare, showing predilection for the cardiovascular and nervous systems.A 57-year-old Caucasian man sought medical assistance due to back pain that evolved to paraplegia of the lower limbs. A thoracic CT scan demonstrated an important aneurysmatic lesion of the descending thoracic aorta causing erosion of the vertebral bodies and VDRL and FTA-abs positivity.Although rare, syphilitic aortitis, the hallmark of cardiovascular syphilis, should be considered in the differential diagnosis in patients with thoracic aneurysm when in the absence of classic risk factors for atherosclerosis, especially in cases that progress with erosion of vertebral bodies.

A dose-dense TCF regimen in metastatic gastric cancer is feasible, with activity comparable to previous results achieved with epirubicin-based chemotherapy and TCF q3wk in terms of overall survival and time to progression, and deserves to be further tested in randomized phase III studies.

We report a case of a 75-year-old man submitted to a rectosigmoidectomy and partial cystectomy because of a sigmoid cancer and colovesical fistula. Seven months later and after four cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy, a lesion was detected in the kidney. Histology revealed tubular adenocarcinoma, which meant sigmoid cancer metastasis. Kidney metastases are very rare in colorectal cancer (CRC), but may be generally associated with an unfavorable prognosis. Thus, patients with metastatic CRC and kidney tumors are a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge.

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