Cowden syndrome- Clinico-radiological illustration of a rare case

Skin cancer-associated genodermatoses in skin of color patients: a review

Skin cancers are associated with a large number of genodermatoses. Existing knowledge and guidelines on the presentations of these genodermatoses focus disproportionately on White patients. Our goal is to identify notable characteristics in location, frequency, and severity of cutaneous findings along with the median age of skin cancers in skin-of-color (SOC) patients with skin-cancer-associated genodermatoses to improve diagnosis rates. We searched for genodermatoses on six databases. Each case report or case series was reviewed, including reports, published in English, containing adult patient descriptions. Duplicate manuscripts were removed using EndNote. The following case-level data were collected from the manuscripts: age, gender, patient country or region of origin, author country/continent of residence, skin cancer-related, and other key dermatologic features. 381 published articles, with a total of 578 SOC patients, met criteria for inclusion. SOC patients can present with fewer classic findings, such as a lower incidence of basal cell carcinomas (44%) in SOC Gorlin syndrome patients than palmar pits (66%) and mandibular cysts (66%). Differences between SOC populations were also noted, such as leukoplakia being more common in Asian dyskeratosis congenita patients (80%) in comparison to African dyskeratosis congenita patients (44%). SOC patients also have varying onset of skin cancer depending on the genodermatosis, from a median of 25 years of age in Rothmund-Thomson syndrome to 53 in Muir-Torre syndrome. In this review, SOC patients with genodermatoses can have varying presentations. Being cognizant of these characteristics may lead to earlier diagnosis and interventions to mitigate skin-cancer-related morbidity in SOC patients.

PI3K/AKT Pathway and Its Mediators in Thyroid Carcinomas

Thyroid malignancies are the most common endocrine system carcinomas, with four histopathological forms. The phosphoinositide 3-kinase-protein kinase B/AKT (PI3K-PKB/AKT) pathway is one of the most critical molecular signaling pathways implicated in key cellular processes. Its continuous activation by several aberrant receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and genetic mutations in its downstream effectors result in high cell proliferation in a broad number of cancers, including thyroid carcinomas. In this review article, the role of different signaling pathways of PI3K/AKT in thyroid cancers, with the emphasis on the PI3K/AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), PI3K/AKT/forkhead box O (FOXO) and PI3K/AKT/phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten (PTEN) pathways, and various therapeutic strategies targeting these pathways have been summarized. In most of the in vitro studies, agents inhibiting mTOR in monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy for thyroid malignancies have been introduced as promising anticancer therapies. FOXOs and PTEN are two outstanding downstream targets of the PI3K/AKT pathway. At the present time, no study has been undertaken to consider thyroid cancer treatment via FOXOs and PTEN targeting. According to the critical role of these proteins in cell cycle arrest, it seems that a treatment strategy based on the combination of FOXOs or PTEN activity induction with PI3K/AKT downstream mediators (e.g., mTOR) inhibition will be beneficial and promising in thyroid cancer treatment.