Background: Metatypical cell carcinoma can be considered as a new entity of skin cancer, being an intermediate typology between basal cell carcinomas and squamous cell carcinomas. The behaviour of the metatypical cell carcinoma lies between these two varieties of skin cancer. It is difficult to perform a differential diagnosis based on morphological and clinical features -therefore it is only possible by accurate histology.

Spitz nevus is an uncommon, benign melanocytic neoplasm that shares many clinical and histological features with melanoma. It presents clinical ambiguity that makes the diagnosis and management of the patient difficult. We present our experience in the management of Spitz nevus by rigorous dermoscopic long-term follow-up of 8 Spitz nevi in patients younger than 12 years. Dermoscopic images, acquired every 6 months, show evolution and modifications of these lesions. The aim of this paper is to better understand the long-term modifications of nevi with starburst pattern to avoid surgical excision of these lesions in the pediatric age group.

Many authors have indicated the presence of ectopic or accessory upper eyelid fat pads, but the effective rate of eyelid fat variations and the corresponding clinical features are still unclear. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability of upper lid fat and to define the anatomical landmarks of the adipose pockets of the upper lid. From January of 1998 to January of 2002, the authors investigated the upper eyelid fat compartments of 47 patients who underwent upper blepharoplasty. To support surgical findings, 11 fresh cadavers were also investigated; the anatomy of the intraorbital fat and of the upper eyelid fat compartments was reviewed. Ten patients (21.3 percent) showed an accessory fat pad in the upper lid, which was found on both sides in nine cases. In all patients, the third fat pad was situated lateral to the two classic compartments described by Castanares, behind the orbital septum. Surgical dissections demonstrated that this fat pad derived from the preaponeurotic fat. Anatomical dissections in three cadavers demonstrated an accessory fat compartment protruding under the inferior border of the lacrimal gland. This protruding fat derived from the preaponeurotic fat in all cases and might justify the clinical appearance of a bulge or fullness in the lateral third of the upper eyelid. In the authors' experience, the presence of an accessory upper eyelid fat pad was a frequent finding during blepharoplasty; it could be found and actually resected in about 21 percent of all cases. Surgical and experimental findings put this element as a lateral physiological extension of the preaponeurotic fat that can anteriorly protrude under the inferior border of the lacrimal gland toward the orbital septum. The clinical appearance may be a bulge or fullness in the upper eyelid, and its resection can better define the lateral one third of the supratarsal fold.

The results of this multicenter study showed that there is a noticeable difference in the expression of PCNA, p53, cyclin-D1, and AgNOR in tissues from patients with LLSCC and controls.

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Background:Experimental data suggest that exposure to ultraviolet radiation may indirectly induce DNA double-strand breaks.Aim:To investigate the contribution of the non-homologous end-joining repair pathway in basal and squamous cell carcinomas.Methods:Levels of Ku70 and Ku80 proteins were determined by immunohistochemical analysis and Ku70–Ku80 heterodimer-binding activity by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Matched pathological normal margins and skin from healthy people were used as controls.Results:A significant increase in Ku70 and Ku80 protein levels was found for both tumour types as compared with normal skin (p<0.001). Squamous cell carcinoma showed increased immunostaining as compared with basal cell tumours (p<0.02). A direct correlation was found between Ku70 and Ku80 protein levels and expression of the proliferation markers Ki-67/MIB-1 (p<0.02 and p<0.002, respectively) in basal cell carcinoma. DNA binding activity was increased in basal cell carcinoma samples as compared with matched skin histopathologically negative for cancer (p<0.006). In squamous cell carcinomas, however, the difference was significant only with normal skin (p<0.02) and not with matched pathologically normal margins.Conclusions:Overall, an up regulation of the Ku70 and Ku80 protein levels seems to correlate only with tumour proliferation rate. As non-homologous end joining is an error-prone mechanism, its up regulation may ultimately increase genomic instability, contributing to tumour progression.

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Scientific controversy concerning silicone and its biocompatibility has been ongoing for the last 10 years. This study on textured and smooth silicone breast implant shells using fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy associated with attenuated total reflectance cells aimed to identify eventual chemical modifications of silicone induced by texturization. The surfaces of 8 new implants produced by 2 well-known manufactures have been taken into consideration. A sample 1 cm2 has been harvested from the anterior and posterior sides of textured and smooth shells. Infrared spectra were then recorded, evaluated, and compared with the reference spectrum of pure silicone. Potentially reactive groups, known as silanols, were identified, in all shells, intensity increasing in textured implants (P < 0.05), whereas no silanols were detected in the spectrum of pure silicone. These results suggest that polar groups, present in manipulated silicone might influence capsula formation.