Faculty Bibliography

Eruptive syringoma is a rare variant of syringoma, benign neoplasms of the eccrine sweat ducts that appear on the face, neck, chest, and axillae of predominately Asian and African American women before or during puberty [1, 2]. Lesions appear as small skin-colored or slightly pigmented, flat-topped papules [2]. The condition can be cosmetically disfiguring and difficult to treat, especially in dark-skinned patients. The investigators report a 52-year old Guyanese woman who presented with widespread, chronic, non-pruritic and nontender, skin-colored papules that arose approximately 20 years earlier. A punch biopsy of affected skin was obtained and the histological diagnosis was eruptive syringoma. The patient pursued no further treatment, after discussion of costs and risks.

Distinguishing benign acral nevi from small early acral melanomas may be challenging in certain cases. Dermoscopy is a noninvasive imaging technique that can help clinicians better visualize deeper lesion structures and thus more easily differentiate benign nevi from melanoma. We report the case of a 13-year-old girl with a changing dark brown to black macule with a central papular component on the volar surface of the right third finger. Dermoscopy revealed asymmetrically distributed irregular black blotches on a bluish-black background. Histopathology revealed a traumatized compound melanocytic nevus. Certain melanocytic nevi, although histologically benign, may not conform to the limited selection of reassuring benign dermoscopic patterns. Nevi in children are often dynamic and have a high likelihood of dermoscopic change.

Elastomas are connective tissue nevi or hamartomas. They may occur in isolation or can be associated with familial syndromes such as Buschke-Ollendorff syndrome. Elastomas typically present in childhood as small ivory papules or firm skin-colored nodules that can coalesce into larger yellow plaques. These lesions are typically distributed over the extremities, abdomen, and back. Herein, we report an unusual case of a renal transplant recipient who presented with an acquired subungual papule with associated koilonychia and distal nail plate dystrophy. Histopathologic findings were consistent with subungual elastoma.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women and is also the most common internal malignancy to metastasize to the skin. Rarely, cutaneous metastases represent the first indication of breast carcinoma, putting dermatologists in an instrumental position to make the diagnosis of breast carcinoma. We report the case of a 71-year-old woman with a 10-year history of a slowly-enlarging, indurated plaque in the right axilla. Review of symptoms was significant only for occasional numbness and tingling that extended from the right axilla to the right hand. Biopsy revealed cells infiltrating in a single-file between the collagen bundles in the dermis and subcutis and immunohistochemical staining consistent with a diagnosis of invasive lobular carcinoma. Subsequent work up revealed a primary breast lesion and extensive bony metastases.

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is a sporadic autoimmune blistering disease of unknown etiology. The production of immunoglobulin G4 antibodies against desmoglein-1 is responsible for the clinical manifestation of PF. We present a case of a woman with a recent diagnosis of myasthenia gravis (MG), who was also recently treated with radiation therapy for breast cancer. The clinical exam, supported by biopsy and direct immunofluorescence, were consistent with PF. We present this case to increase the awareness of the potential exacerbation or induction of PF with radiation, and of the association of PF and myasthenia gravis. Only five prior cases of radiation-exacerbated or radiation-induced PF have been reported in the literature to date. Furthermore, the co-existence of the autoimmune entities of myasthenia gravis and PF has been reported in the literature in only 9 cases and was also noted in this patient.

Importance: Although nevi with a peripheral rim of globules (peripheral globular nevi [PGN]) observed with dermoscopy are associated with enlarging melanocytic nevi, their actual growth dynamics remain unknown. Because change is a sensitive but nonspecific marker for melanoma, beginning to understand the growth patterns of nevi may improve the ability of physicians to differentiate normal from abnormal growth and reduce unnecessary biopsies. Objective: To study the growth dynamics and morphologic evolution of PGN on dermoscopy. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 84 participants with 121 PGN from September 1, 1999, through May 1, 2013, were identified retrospectively. Cohorts were recruited from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Melanoma Unit of the Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona; and Study of Nevi in Children. All 3 cohorts underwent longitudinal monitoring with serial dermoscopic imaging of their PGN. Data analysis was performed from May 1, 2014, through April 1, 2015. Main Outcomes and Measures: Establishment of the natural growth curve of PGN. The secondary aim was to establish the median time to growth cessation in those PGN for which the size eventually stabilized and/or had begun to decrease during the study period. Results: The median duration of follow-up was 25.1 (range, 2.0-114.4) months. Most of the nevi (116 [95.9%]) enlarged at some point during sequential monitoring. The rate of increase in the surface area of PGN varied among cohorts and ranged from -0.47 to 2.26 mm2/mo (mean rate, 0.25 [95% CI, 0.14-0.36] mm2/mo). The median time to growth cessation in the 26 PGN that stabilized or decreased in size (21.5%) was 58.6 months. All lesions changed in a symmetric manner and 91 (75.2%) displayed a decrease in the density of peripheral globules over time. Conclusions and Relevance: Nevi displaying a peripheral globular pattern enlarged symmetrically with apparent growth cessation occurring during a span of 4 to 5 years. Our results reiterate the important concept that not all growth is associated with malignancy.

Anti-tumor necrosis factor induced lupus (ATIL) is a rare side effect reported in patients treated with anti-tumor necrosis factor medications such as infliximab, etanercept and adalimumab. Of the three, this condition has been least commonly reported secondary to adalimumab. In this report, we present a case of ATIL in a patient treated for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with adalimumab. This report will increase physician awareness of the warning signs, diagnostic options and potential complications of ATIL. In this patient, adalimumab was discontinued and treatment was started, leading to improvement in the patient's status.