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Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a potentially life-threatening multifocal neoplasm. Despite the significant decline in the incidence of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related KS with the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), some patients, even those with a good immune restoration, still have aggressive disease. Liposomal anthracyclines or combination chemotherapy are widely used but adverse effects limit their utilization.We studied the efficacy and tolerance of docetaxel in the treatment of AIDS-related KS after pretreatment with anthracycline.A retrospective cohort study was done. Nine human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients were treated from 1997 to 2002 with docetaxel. Tumour response was evaluated using the AIDS Clinical Trial Group (ACTG) staging criteria. Clinical and biological toxicity was evaluated. AIDS status with HIV viral load and CD4 T-cell count were measured at the beginning and at the end of the treatment.A major (complete or partial) response and a stabilization of the disease were demonstrated in seven and two patients, respectively. Grade 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were observed in four of nine and one of nine patients, respectively. One patient died after sepsis.Docetaxel has a good and rapid efficacy in anthracycline-pretreated patients with severe AIDS-related KS. Phase II/III trials should be done to compare docetaxel with liposomal anthracyclines as a first-line treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary There is a known relationship between the use of immunosuppressive therapies and the development of lymphoproliferative malignancies. These lymphomas are mainly B-cell nonHodgkin's lymphomas associated with Epstein–Barr virus. Most cases concern classical immunosuppressive treatments including ciclosporin and methotrexate. A relationship between the new antitumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α agents and lymphoproliferative malignancies is debated. Patients with psoriasis on immunosuppressive therapies, mainly ciclosporin, are considered to have a low risk of developing lymphoid proliferation. We report a patient with erythrodermic psoriasis treated with ciclosporin and infliximab who developed a CD30+ T-cell lymphoma. This lymphoma regressed after stopping these treatments. In this case, the anti-TNF-α agent may have played a role in association with ciclosporin in the development of the lymphoproliferative disorder. Whereas the combination of anti-TNF-α therapies with methotrexate has been well studied, their combination with ciclosporin has been evaluated only in a few patients. Psoriatic patients who may require anti-TNF-α treatment have often been or will be treated with ciclosporin. The combination of ciclosporin and anti-TNF-α warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viral infections are thought to play a part in some cutaneous drug reactions. Human herpesvirus 6 (HHV6), which is the agent of exanthema subitum (sixth disease), has never been implicated in a drug reaction. We report a patient with severe phenobarbital-induced anticonvulsant hypersensitivity syndrome in whom a fulminant haemophagocytic syndrome was associated with HHV6 infection. We discuss the possible role of HHV6 in this reactive condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare malignant tumour that develops in sun-exposed areas in immunocompromised patients (chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, transplant recipients) older than 50 years. We report MCC in a young black woman with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. A 2-cm binodular violaceous lesion developed on her left ear lobe. Extensive work-up, including computed tomographic scans of the neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis, octreotide scan and sentinel node biopsy, did not demonstrate any metastasis. A wide excision was performed and the patient remained free of disease after 9 months. This case is the fourth observation of MCC in an HIV-infected patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extrapulmonary sarcoidosis, and particularly the presence of musculoskeletal complications of the disease, may require chronic corticosteroid therapy. In five patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis and presenting recalcitrant forms of the disease, we introduced low-dose oral methotrexate (MTX) [10 mg/week (7.5–15)] for 30 months (16–34) to control the clinical and biological symptoms as well as to try to reduce the intolerated steroid posology. Beneficial effects were observed within 8–12 weeks in all patients, which allowed a reduction of 59% (35–75) of the corticosteroid posology, and maintained with a follow-up of 3 yr in 4/5 patients. No significant toxicity was observed. MTX appears to be an efficient, safe and corticosteroid-sparing therapeutic agent for the treatment of recalcitrant musculoskeletal manifestations of sarcoidosis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A recent observation of a patient with hypopigmented mycosis fungoides is described. This is, to our knowledge, the first case occurring in a caucasian. The two cases of hypopigmented mycosis fungoides recently published in this journal[sup1] affected, as usual, dark-skinned patients and the irnmunopathological findings differed from those we obtained in our patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]