PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Marie-France Demierre

Publications and source records attributed to Marie-France Demierre.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Significant impact of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma on patients' quality of life: results of a 2005 National Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation Survey.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) can have a profound impact on a patient's health-related quality of life; however, little is known about its actual impact. The authors evaluated patients' perspectives on the impact of CTCL on physical functioning, lifestyle, emotional well being, and satisfaction with treatment. METHODS: A 4-page, self-administered questionnaire was mailed and made available online in March 2005 to the entire United States membership of the Mycosis Fungoides Foundation (n = 930 members). Outcome measures were patients' perspectives on the psychosocial impact of CTCL and the management of their disease. RESULTS: The response rate was 68%, and 93.6% of respondents were white. The majority of respondents had mycosis fungoides (89%). Respondents were bothered by skin redness (94%) and by the extent of symptoms that affected their choice of clothing (63%). For most patients, the disease had a functional impact, rendering them tired or affecting their sleep. Health distress was reported by almost all respondents, with 94% reporting that they worried about the seriousness of their disease and 80% worrying about dying from the disease. Sixty-two percent of respondents reported that their disease made them feel unattractive, 85% reported that their treatment made their disease seem more manageable, but 61% reported that they felt burdened financially by their disease. CONCLUSIONS: The high response rate and patients' responses to the survey provided compelling evidence that patients believed CTCL had a profound and severe impact on their functioning, emotional, and social well being. A striking health distress was prevalent in almost all respondents. Although the majority of patients reported that treatments made their disease more manageable, a significant proportion reported that they felt burdened financially by their disease.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2006

Compliance with restrictions on sale of indoor tanning sessions to youth in Minnesota and Massachusetts.

BACKGROUND: Minnesota and Massachusetts require parental permission, for persons younger than 16 or 18 years of age, respectively, for indoor tanning. OBJECTIVES: This report examines business practices and characteristics associated with sales of indoor tanning to underage girls. METHODS: Fifteen-year-old girls tried to purchase an ultraviolet tanning session in 200 indoor tanning businesses in the Minneapolis-St Paul and Boston areas without parental consent. Business characteristics were recorded. Later, businesses were interviewed by telephone about their facilities and practices. RESULTS: Eighty-one percent of businesses sold a session to an underaged buyer on at least one of two tries. Illegal purchases did not differ by state. Businesses least likely to sell were larger, dedicated to indoor tanning, required employee certification, and had a minimum age of sale for their business. However, businesses in each of these categories still sold tanning sessions to underaged adolescents at 44% to 62% of the visits. Employees who requested parental consent or age identification almost never sold a session. LIMITATIONS: Businesses in Minnesota and Massachusetts only were included. CONCLUSION: Minnesota and Massachusetts laws specifying a minimum age of sale for indoor tanning are ineffective.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Epidemiology and prevention of cutaneous melanoma.

Melanoma incidence has continued to increase in all white populations, and mortality from melanoma remains high in older men worldwide. In Australia, Europe, and the United States, a substantial number of thick melanomas in older men are of the nodular subtype, a subtype lacking asymmetry or color change. Educating the public and professionals about the significance of evolving pigmented lesions as emphasized in the revised ABCDE of pigmented lesions is relevant. Targeting screening efforts toward older men will be necessary to decrease worldwide melanoma mortality. Among prevention strategies, emphasizing multiple methods of sun protection in early childhood, adolescence, and adulthood is needed to decrease sunburn rates. Chemoprevention research in melanoma should become a research priority to complement ongoing prevention strategies.

Humans↗
PubMed2006

What about chemoprevention for melanoma?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This paper aims to critically review the potential for a chemoprevention strategy in melanoma, and to discuss new data on candidate chemoprevention agents, as chemoprevention has been suggested as an unexplored approach in melanoma. RECENT FINDINGS: A strong scientific rationale, established long-term safety of candidate agents, and a systematic step-wise approach to chemoprevention agent development are all critical for melanoma chemoprevention research. Among potential agents, the lipid-lowering drugs, the statins, satisfy these prerequisites. SUMMARY: Chemoprevention of cutaneous melanoma can become a valid strategy complementing current prevention approaches, as long as these important prerequisites are taken into consideration.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Macrophage-rich epithelioid angiosarcoma mimicking malignant melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous epithelioid angiosarcoma is a type of cutaneous angiosarcoma and usually arise both on the head or neck of the elderly. CASE REPORT: An 86-year-old male with an epithelioid angiosarcoma of the scalp that mimicked malignant melanoma. RESULTS: A large irregular dark grey-blue plaque with an adjacent speckled tan nodule was suggestive of a primary cutaneous malignant melanoma with adjacent in-transit metastasis. Both had a well-circumscribed growth pattern and were composed of numerous large epithelioid cells with scattered severe atypia and mitoses. The tumor was positive for S-100 protein and vimentin and negative for low- and high-molecular weight cytokeratins. However, at high power, the epithelioid cells with severe atypia were negative for S-100 protein, and abundant large epithelioid macrophages were responsible for the S-100 protein positivity. The malignant tumor cells were negative for HMB-45, positive for CD31 and Factor VIII-related antigen, and focally positive for CD34. A focus of infiltrative, classical angiosarcoma with irregular vascular channels lined with plump, anaplastic endothelial cells was then found deep to the epithelioid tumor. CONCLUSIONS: Macrophage-rich epithelioid angiosarcoma demonstrates abundant S-100 protein-positive epithelioid macrophages. This subset of epithelioid angiosarcoma may mimic malignant melanoma and may present as a pitfall in diagnosis.

Aged, 80 and over↗
PubMed2006

Targeting events in melanoma carcinogenesis for the prevention of melanoma.

Melanoma is one of the few tumors that have increased in incidence over the last few decades. Strategies devoted solely to protecting against ultraviolet radiation have, at best, had a modest impact on the development of melanoma. Chemoprevention is an under-explored approach that could significantly decrease the morbidity and mortality from this deadly cancer. However, the scientific and logistical challenges of performing clinical studies in chemoprevention require innovative approaches to prove the effectiveness of putative preventive agents. There are several pharmacological and nutriceutical agents that are mechanistically linked to events in melanoma carcinogenesis that are candidates for advanced human studies. We will review the data for several promising agents, including statins, curcumin, resveratrol, silymarin and green tea, and discuss some importance issues and concepts that should be considered in any melanoma chemoprevention strategy.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed2005

Health-related quality-of-life assessment in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

OBJECTIVE: To measure and evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a visible cutaneous malignancy that may have a profound effect on patients' lives. DESIGN: Monocenter, cross-sectional study. SETTING: The Skin Oncology Program, Department of Dermatology, and the Photopheresis Unit of Boston Medical Center. PATIENTS: A total of 22 adult patients with confirmed CTCL. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Evaluation of general oncologic and skin disease-specific HRQOL using, respectively, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and Skindex-29 profiles; (2) assessment of HRQOL association with disease stage (early stage, IA-IIA; late stage, IIB-IVB). RESULTS: Patients with more advanced CTCL stages reported more effects on general health (FACT-G), particularly in the physical, emotional, and functional domains (P < .05). Patients with early-stage CTCL reported better skin-specific HRQOL overall (Skindex-29; P = .002) and for each specific domain than did patients with late-stage disease. The Skindex-29 scales had high internal consistency, and the confirmatory factor structure was similar to that of previous studies. CONCLUSIONS: The HRQOL of patients with CTCL can be evaluated using the Skindex-29 and FACT-G instruments. Patients with more advanced stages of CTCL had lower HRQOL scores.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2005

Early detection of thick melanomas in the United States: beware of the nodular subtype.

BACKGROUND: Incidence and mortality of melanoma in the United States have risen steeply. Part of this mortality increase may be related to late detection of biologically aggressive nodular melanomas. We determined trends in distribution of thin and thick melanoma, with emphasis on the histopathologic subtype nodular melanoma. METHODS: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results melanoma incidence data for whites were obtained for 1988 through 1999 and stratified according to histologic subtype: lentigo maligna melanoma, superficial spreading melanoma, nodular melanoma, other, and not otherwise specified (NOS); thickness: 0-0.99 mm, 1.00 mm-1.99 mm, and > or =2.0 mm; patient age (0-49, 50+); gender; and year (1988-1991, 1992-1995, 1996-1999). Comparison of tumor thickness between strata was defined by year of diagnosis, sex, age, and histologic subtype. RESULTS: The number of new melanoma cases in a 3-year period increased 60% from 1988-1991 (n = 9132) to 1996-1999 (n = 14 575). The proportion of thick melanomas (> or =2 mm) remained relatively stable during the 12 study years. Nodular melanoma comprised 9% of all recorded cases but 34% of melanomas 2 mm or larger, including melanoma not otherwise specified (NOS), and nearly 50% of all melanomas 2 mm or larger when NOS cases were excluded. In contrast, superficial spreading melanoma was almost uniformly diagnosed as an early tumor, mostly (77%) presenting as thin melanoma (<1 mm) and with only 7% presenting as thick melanoma (> or =2 mm). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial number of thick melanomas in the United States are of the nodular subtype, and median thickness of nodular melanoma has not changed during the 12 years of study. New strategies are needed to decrease the incidence of thick melanoma in the United States.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2005

Cutaneous melanoma: pathogenesis and rationale for chemoprevention.

OBJECTIVE: To critically review aspects of melanoma pathogenesis that lend themselves to a chemoprevention strategy. To discuss potential candidate chemoprevention agents with an emphasis on the lipid lowering drugs, the statins, currently, the most promising agents. DATA SOURCES: A retrospective review of the literature. STUDY SELECTION: Studies included those relevant to melanoma pathogenesis, to the scientific rationale of chemoprevention, and pertinent epidemiologic, pre-clinical, and clinical studies. The referenced study designs and methodologies varied. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Data were extracted by two reviewers, and the main results are presented in a quantitative descriptive manner. CONCLUSION: Melanoma is a preventable disease by altering behavior (sun exposure) among at-risk individuals. There is also considerable evidence to suggest that melanoma development may be prevented or delayed by drugs of sufficiently low toxicity to make clinical trials of chemoprevention feasible and potentially successful. Among potential candidate agents, statins have compelling data for long-term safety and sufficient pre-clinical and clinical evidence for efficacy to justify their evaluation in well-designed trials in high-risk individuals, incorporating intermediate biologic endpoints.

Chemoprevention↗
PubMed2005

Progression of classic Kaposi's sarcoma with rituximab.

Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD20 antigen of B cells and is being used increasingly for treatment of antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases. We observed the rapid progression of Kaposi's sarcoma after our patient received rituximab for autoimmune hemolytic anemia. We postulate that by very specifically depleting B cells, rituximab affects T-cell function (eliminating B- and T-cell interactions), resulting in impaired T-cell-mediated immunity. Dermatologists should use caution when offering rituximab for off-label use.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Statins and cancer prevention.

Randomized controlled trials for preventing cardiovascular disease indicated that statins had provocative and unexpected benefits for reducing colorectal cancer and melanoma. These findings have led to the intensive study of statins in cancer prevention, including recent, large population-based studies showing statin-associated reductions in overall, colorectal and prostate cancer. Understanding the complex cellular effects (for example, on angiogenesis and inflammation) and the underlying molecular mechanisms of statins (for example, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A (HMG-CoA) reductase-dependent processes that involve geranylgeranylation of Rho proteins, and HMG-CoA-independent processes that involve lymphocyte-function-associated antigen 1) will advance the development of molecularly targeted agents for preventing cancer. This understanding might also help the development of drugs for other ageing-related diseases with interrelated molecular pathways.

Animals↗