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Biomedical subjects

Peter J Heenan

Publications and source records attributed to Peter J Heenan.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

A clinicopathologic review of lethal nonmelanoma skin cancers in Western Australia.

BACKGROUND: Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) comprises a heterogeneous group of cancers. A comprehensive review of NMSC mortality has not been performed previously in this region. OBJECTIVE: We sought to document the population affected by lethal NMSC, the types of tumors involved, and their histopathologic features. METHODS: Death certificates of all patients who died from NMSC were examined. Histology of the primary lesion was reviewed in cases when the primary lesion was identified and sections were available. RESULTS: A total of 120 NMSC deaths occurred, including 89 caused by squamous cell carcinoma, 22 by Merkel cell carcinoma, and 9 others. The median age at death was 79 years, unless the patients were immune deficient (68 years). When the primary lesion was identified (n = 45), the median survival after diagnosis was 17 months; 75% of patients died within 3 years. Lethal neoplasms were deeply invasive and infiltrated into the reticular dermis and beyond. Three squamous cell carcinomas were reclassified as adenosquamous carcinoma. CONCLUSION: Lethal NMSC occurs in the elderly and consists mainly of 3 types of deeply invasive cancers.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Inverted follicular keratosis simulating malignant melanoma.

A 93-year-old woman was noted to have a single pigmented lesion on the posterior aspect of her neck. Clinical examination revealed a 12 x 8-mm flat lesion, with an irregular border and variegated pigmentation. Dermatoscopic examination revealed a lesion with multiple colours, featureless areas and black dots, suggestive of malignant melanoma. With a presumed clinical diagnosis of malignant melanoma, an elliptical excision was performed, with a 1-cm margin. However, histological examination revealed the unexpected diagnosis of pigmented inverted follicular keratosis.

Aged, 80 and over↗
PubMed2004

Grover's disease: 34 years on.

Grover's disease is an entity reported worldwide and recognized as a common disease since Grover first described it in 1970. Its cause remains obscure, but hospitalized, febrile and sun-damaged patients are particularly prone. It is frequently associated with some other skin diseases, including eczemas, psoriasis and solar keratoses. Acantholysis is the universal histological finding in all the varying clinical presentations. Treatment in the past has been ad hoc, but topical therapy, acitretin and phototherapy can suppress symptoms.

Acantholysis↗
PubMed2003

Two cases of eosinophilic pustular folliculitis associated with parasitic infestations.

Two patients presented with papular eruptions that could not be diagnosed clinically. Biopsies of these lesions showed eosinophilic pustular folliculitis (EPF). Both cases were subsequently found to have infestations: one as a result of cutaneous larva migrans was successfully treated with ivermectin and the other caused by scabies mites was successfully treated with topical pyrethrin. The two cases of EPF presented emphasize the need for careful clinicopathological correlation to determine the cause.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Toward the discrimination of early melanoma from common and dysplastic nevus using fiber optic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.

We describe a study of the discrimination of early melanoma from common and dysplastic nevus using fiber optic diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Diffuse reflectance spectra in the wavelength range 550 to 1000 nm are obtained using 400-microm core multimode fibers arranged in a six-illumination-around-one-collection geometry with a single fiber-fiber spacing of 470 microm. Spectra are collected at specific locations on 120 pigmented lesions selected by clinicians as possible melanoma, including 64 histopathologically diagnosed as melanoma. These locations are carried through to the histopathological diagnosis, permitting a spatially localized comparison with the corresponding spectrum. The variations in spectra between groups of lesions with different diagnoses are examined and reduced to features suitable for discriminant analysis. A classifier distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions performs with sensitivity/specificity of between 6469% and 7278%. Classifiers between pairs of the group common nevus, dysplastic nevus, in situ melanoma, and invasive melanoma show better or similar performance than the benign/malignant classifier, and analysis provides evidence that different spectral features are needed for each pair of groups. This indicates that multiple discriminant systems are likely to be required to distinguish between melanoma and similar lesions.

Algorithms↗