Cryptococcoid Sweet syndrome is a rare histologic variant of the neutrophilic dermatosis presenting clinically with skin lesions typical of classical Sweet syndrome but with yeast-like structures suggestive of Cryptococcus on histopathology. Histochemical stains for fungus and cultures are negative whereas staining for myeloperoxidase is positive. We present 2 cases of cryptococcoid Sweet syndrome with atypical skin manifestations, including hemorrhagic bullae and plaques, and provide a brief review of the literature. Clinicians should be aware that this variant of Sweet syndrome can present with uncommon clinical findings and has histopathologic findings suggestive of Cryptococcus species.
A 24-year-old female presented with granulomatous slack skin (GSS) cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. The patient underwent systemic chemotherapy. Owing to the development of several chemotherapy-related complications, therapy was discontinued. Subsequently, disease progression was noted clinically. Our patient's disease progression was clearly demonstrated by 18F-fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET)/CT findings. PET/CT imaging findings of GSS have not yet previously been reported. In this report, we present PET/CT characteristics of a patient with GSS.
Current guidelines are unclear as to the precise role of radiotherapy (RT) in patients with desmoplastic melanoma (DM). The purpose of this study was to evaluate our institutional outcomes in patients with DM, and to explore the roles of both adjuvant and salvage RT in these patients. We identified 100 patients with a histopathologic diagnosis of DM who received treatment at our institution from 2000 to 2014. Local control, distant metastasis-free survival, and overall survival (OS) were evaluated in the 95 patients managed surgically with or without adjuvant and/or salvage RT. The overall rate of local recurrence (LR) was 10%. There was no LR in either adjuvant or salvage RT cohort. Adjuvant RT did not significantly improve LR-free survival at 5 years (100 vs. 81%, P=0.59), despite the RTpatients having worse pathological features. Four of seven (57%) salvage patients developed distant metastases, despite 100% local control. Adjuvant RT did not significantly impact 5-year overall survival (86 vs. 82%, P=0.43). RT shows a trend towards improved local control in both the adjuvant and salvage settings for patients with DM, and likely overcomes adverse risk factors after surgery in appropriately selected patients. Future prospective studies are needed to better address the optimal management for these patients.
Vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA) has emerged as a viable limb replacement strategy for selected patients with upper limb amputation. However, allograft rejection has been seen in essentially all reported VCA recipients indicating a requirement for substantial immunosuppressive therapy. Calcineurin inhibitors have served as the centerpiece agent in all reported cases, and CNI-associated complications associated with the broad therapeutic effects and side effects of calcineurin inhibitors have been similarly common. Recently, belatacept has been approved as a calcineurin inhibitor replacement in kidney transplantation, but to date, its use in VCA has not been reported. Herein, we report on the case of a hand transplant recipient who developed recurrent acute rejection with alloantibody formation and concomitant calcineurin inhibitor nephrotoxicity, all of which resolved upon conversion from a maintenance regimen of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and steroids to belatacept and sirolimus. This case indicates that belatacept may be a reasonable maintenance immunosuppressive alternative for use in VCA, providing sufficient prophylaxis from rejection with a reduced side effect profile, the latter being particularly relevant for nonlife threatening conditions typically treated by VCA.