A View from the Past Into our Collective Future: The Oncofertility Consortium Vision Statement

Today, male and female adult and pediatric cancer patients, individuals transitioning between gender identities, and other individuals facing health extending but fertility limiting treatments can look forward to a fertile future. This is, in part, due to the work of members associated with the Oncofertility Consortium. The Oncofertility Consortium is an international, interdisciplinary initiative originally designed to explore the urgent unmet need associated with the reproductive future of cancer survivors. As the strategies for fertility management were invented, developed or applied, the individuals for who the program offered hope, similarly expanded. As a community of practice, Consortium participants share information in an open and rapid manner to addresses the complex health care and quality-of-life issues of cancer, transgender and other patients. To ensure that the organization remains contemporary to the needs of the community, the field designed a fully inclusive mechanism for strategic planning and here present the findings of this process. This interprofessional network of medical specialists, scientists, and scholars in the law, medical ethics, religious studies and other disciplines associated with human interventions, explore the relationships between health, disease, survivorship, treatment, gender and reproductive longevity. The goals are to continually integrate the best science in the service of the needs of patients and build a community of care that is ready for the challenges of the field in the future

Basal cell carcinoma in an eyelid of a farmer with Sturge-Weber syndrome

The paper presents the coexistence of a nevus fl ammeus and basal cell carcinoma affecting the left upper lid of 61-year-old farmer with Sturge-Weber syndrome. The occurrence of basal cell carcinoma in nevus fl ammeus is extremely rare. The etiology of the malignancy in this situation is unknown. It is diffi cult to diagnose neoplastic transformations that could arise in the nevus fl ammeus. Radiotherapy followed by complete surgical excision were used as a treatment in the described patient

The role of vitamin D in alopecia areata

Alopecia areata is an inflammatory disease with noncicatricial hair loss. Despite its high prevalence in the dermatological patient population, the pathogenesis is not sufficiently understood. In recent years, the contribution of autoimmune processes has been emphasized, as indicated by the presence of autoantibodies against hair follicle antigens and inflammatory cell infiltrates with increased expression of cytokines around the hair follicle. Vitamin D performs many important functions in the human body – is responsible for maintaining calcium homeostasis but is also an important regulator of the immune response. It acts mainly via the nuclear vitamin D receptor located on the surface of dendritic cells, macrophages, B and T cells, keratinocytes and cells of the hair follicle papillae. Vitamin D suppresses the immune system cells, and its deficiency may be important in pathophysiological phenomena in alopecia areata. According to current data, vitamin D supplementation may be a therapeutic option worth considering in patients with alopecia areata

Application of antimalarial medications in the treatment of skin diseases

Antimalarial drugs used in medicine for over 300 years, nowadays, due to their anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and antiproliferative photoprotective properties, are used in the therapy of many dermatologic and rheumatologic disorders. The efficacy of these medications is proven in systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, porphyria cutanea tarda, lichen planus, ulcerative stomatitis, sarcoidosis, and even alopecia areata. Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine belong to a group of well-tolerated drugs that occasionally cause adverse effects, which include gastrointestinal disorders, retinopathy, cardiomyopathy, neuromuscular disorders, skin hyperpigmentations, and hematological disorders. Nevertheless, these drugs continue to be frequently applied, including for systemic diseases of connective tissue during pregnancy. However, the treatment must be monitored – periodic ophthalmologic examinations during therapy with chloroquine must be performed, especially during prolonged treatment with high doses of these drugs. The article discusses the mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, indications and adverse effects of these medications