Deep Convolutional Neural Networks on Automatic Classification for Skin Tumour Images

The skin, uniquely positioned at the interface between the human body and the external world, plays a multifaceted immunologic role in human life. In medical practice, early accurate detection of all types of skin tumours is essential to guide appropriate management and improve patients’ survival. The most important issue is to differentiate between malignant skin tumours and benign lesions. The aim of this research is the classification of skin tumours by analysing medical skin tumour dermoscopy images. This paper is focused on a new strategy based on deep convolutional neural networks which have recently shown a state-of-the-art performance to define strategy to automatic classification for skin tumour images. The proposed system is tested on well-known HAM10000 data set. For experimental results, verification is performed and the results are compared with similar researches.

The value of dermoscopy in the diagnosis of epidermal cyst

Epidermal cyst also called epithelial cyst is a very common benign skin tumour. They can appear anywhere on the body but are most common on the face, neck and trunk. They are slow growing and often painless. It is usually easy to diagnose. Sometimes, it can be difficult to make a correct diagnosis for non-typical cases such as multiple, small lesions or those lacking a central comedo-like punctum. We here report the case of an epidermal cyst with no clinically visible punctum in which the dermoscopy was very helpful.

Identification of Polyomaviruses in Skin Cancers

Background: Polyomaviruses (PyVs) were initially described in animals. They have also been detected in humans with some evidence that could play a role in skin carcinogenesis. Objectives: This study aimed to verify the presence of PyVs in different skin tumour samples and to make clinical correlations with patients’ epidemiological data from Clinics Hospital of Medical School of University of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. A random selection was performed of 120 patients with histopathological exams of different cutaneous neoplasms equally divided into 6 groups and 20 patients with normal skin. The available skin specimens were analysed with 2 different techniques of PCR (conventional and real time) for detection of PyV DNA. Concomitantly, retrospective analysis of the respective medical records for the collection of epidemiological data was done. Analyses suitable for categorical data were used to compare the proportion of patients in each group. Results: PyV DNA was found in 25.69% of the samples: 15% in basal cell carcinoma group, 15% in squamous cell carcinoma, 28.57% in melanoma, 15% in dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, 13.33% in Kaposi sarcoma, 65% in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), and none in normal skin. Merkel cell PyV detection was statistically significant in MCC patients (p value <0.01), but no correlations were found between PyVs and others skin tumours. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the presence of PyVs in different skin tumours; however, no association of any PyVs found in any skin tumour with epidemiological data could be shown. Further studies are still needed to elucidate the mechanisms of PyVs in skin carcinogenesis.

Pilomatrixoma: a common tumour of head and neck, but rarely reported

Pilomatrixoma is a benign subcutaneous tumour arising from the sebaceous glands. Mutation in the CTNNB1 gene is seen, suggesting beta-catenin misregulation may be the cause of pilomatrixoma. The preoperative diagnosis may be improved by the awareness of the fact that pilomatrixoma is a common and benign skin tumour of the head and neck region. It presents as a well-defined mass, which may be firm to hard in consistency, usually attached to the skin, but not to the underlying tissue. The colour of overlying skin appears a reddish-brown tinge, indicating that it could be a case of pilomatrixoma. Here, we report a case of pilomatrixoma of the cheek in a woman along with the CT findings and histopathological appearances. Dental surgeons should consider it as one of the differential diagnosis in superficial head and neck swelling with calcification.

An isolated pilomatricoma of the leg: a rare location – A Case Study

Pilomatricoma is a rare, benign skin tumour arising from the hair matrix. The usual locations are the head and neck. Localization in the lower limbs is exceptional. The diagnosis of certainty is histological. Treatment is complete surgical removal to avoid recurrence. We report in this article the case of a rare localization of a pilomatricoma on the right leg, in a 25-year-old patient operated with complete surgical removal. The postoperative course was simple and without recurrence after 2 months of follow-up.

Amelanotic melanoma and pyogenic granuloma. Peculiarities of the differential diagnosis

INTRODUCTION:Nodular melanoma is a rapidly progressive skin tumour with a high risk of methastasis even on early stages. This fact leads to necessity of non-invasive procedures, which can verify this diagnosis before surgery. Nodular forms of amelanotic melanoma can be hardly diagnosed because of their unusual diagnostic and dermatoscopic features. CASE REPORT:Pyogenic granuloma is the most difficult disease for differential diagnosis. It is a benign vascular formation, which mimics nodular amelanotic melanoma.