Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to R Hanno.
A case of Kaposi's sarcoma is presented in which extensive diagnostic studies failed to detect the cardiac, pulmonary, intestinal and nodal involvement that was found to be present at autopsy.
The neurocutaneous syndromes are a diverse group of diseases characterized by widespread abnormalities in structures of ectodermal origin, including the skin, eye, and central and peripheral nervous systems. These syndromes are particularly interesting to the clinician because they often present with cutaneous signs at birth or very early in life. These skin markers may be clues to widespread abnormality that may later develop in the nervous system and other areas of the body, making early diagnosis from careful assessment of cutaneous signs a particularly challenging task. Six of the most common of these syndromes are reviewed.
A 57-year-old woman presented with an erythematous plaque of the left postauricular area that was diagnosed as metastatic carcinoma on clinical and histologic bases. It was revealed that herpes zoster had been diagnosed in the same dermatomal distribution 10 years previously. The lesion recurred 2 years after irradiation, and angiosarcoma was diagnosed. Recent evidence linking viral infection and vascular tumors is examined as it might apply to the pathogenesis of angiosarcoma. Repeat biopsy, reticulum stain, and electronmicroscopic examination of a lesion of the head and neck region that histologically suggests metastatic carcinoma are recommended if no primary malignancy is discovered.