Primary cutaneous melanomas are usually divided into three separate clinicopathologic groups: lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM), superficial spreading melanoma. (SSM), and nodular melanoma (NM). Acral lentiginous melanoma has been described as the fourth distinct subtype to denote those melanomas that arise on volar and subungual skin. This entity is said to have a radial growth phase histological...

Cutaneous malignant melanoma is the most common cause of mortality from skin cancers in Caucasian populations. The incidence rates of malignant melanoma show considerable varia‐ tion worldwide. Annual incidence rates per 100,000 people vary between about 40 in Australia and New Zealand to about 20 in the United States [1,2]. In contrast, a significantly lower inci‐ dence rate has been reported ...

C utaneous melanoma (CM) is the leading cause of skin cancer mortality worldwide despite constituting only 4% of skin cancers. Acral melanoma (AM) is a distinct variant of CM and is generally associated with a poor prognosis. Complete spontaneous regression of CM is a rare but well described phenomenon. We present an unusual case of a complete spontaneously regressed metastatic AM with melanoma...

Epiligrin, the major component of human keratinocyte extracellular matrix, serves as the preferred integrin ligand for alpha 3 beta 1 in plasma membranes and focal adhesions, and colocalizes with alpha 6 beta 4 in hemidesmosomes. In human skin, epiligrin is found in the lamina lucida subregion of epidermal basement membrane, where it is thought to be associated with anchoring filaments. We have...

Multiple observations point to involvement of lipid membrane domains, known as lipid rafts, in the pathology of human disorders. The putative role of lipid rafts in hereditary and acquired skin blistering diseases is discussed in this review. Stable adhesion of the epidermis to the underlying basement membrane is secured by hemidesmosomes, specialized multiprotein complexes in basal keratinocyt...

Zinc deficiency can be an autosomal recessive inherited or acquired disorder and is classically characterized by acral and periorificial dermatitis, alopecia, and diarrhea. We report a case of acquired zinc deficiency in a premature 6-week-old boy with typical skin manifestation of zinc deficiency and decreased plasma zinc level. After starting zinc replacement therapy, the skin lesions complet...

Kindler syndrome is a rare hereditary disorder, associated with skin fragility. The syndrome involves the skin and mucous membrane with radiological changes. The genetic defect has been identified on the short arm of chromosome 20. This report describes a 16-year-old patient with classical features like blistering and photosensitivity in childhood and the subsequent development of poikiloderma.

In several human volunteers, photoacoustic microscopy (PAM) has been utilized for noninvasive cutaneous imaging of the skin microvasculature and a melanocytic nevus. Microvascular networks in both acral and nonacral skin were imaged, and multiple features within the skin have been identified, including the stratum corneum, epidermal-dermal junction, and subpapillary vascular plexus. Several vas...