Onycholemmal carcinoma with prominent dystrophic calcification and review of the literature

A case report of onycholemmal carcinoma in a 61-year-old Chinese male

Onycholemmal carcinoma is characterized as a slowly progressing malignant tumor originating from the epithelium of the nail bed. A limited number of cases have been documented in the English literature. The majority of the patients included in the reports underwent amputation of the affected phalanx, and no instances of recurrence were noted during the follow-up period. A 61-year-old Chinese male presented with a persistent ulceration on the nail bed of the right great toe. Microscopic analysis indicated the presence of an epithelial tumor consisting of small keratocysts with sudden central keratinization and atypical keratinocyte nests that were devoid of a granular layer. The tumor exhibited infiltrative growth within the dermis, displaying a multilobulated pattern, but did not extend into the distal phalangeal bone. Based on these findings, the diagnosis of onycholemmal carcinoma was made for this case. All documented cases indicate that onycholemmal carcinoma is a rare malignant tumor originating from the nail bed epithelium, and its clinical progression is typically slow and non-aggressive. This case is presented to provide an analysis of the clinical and pathological features of onycholemmal carcinoma, aiming to assist in the clinical selection of treatment options.

Perinatal pharmacoepidemiology: How often are key methodological elements reported in publications?

PURPOSE

Publications provide important information for clinicians, researchers, and patients. Key methodological elements must be reported for maximum transparency. We identified key methodological elements necessary for fully understanding perinatal pharmacoepidemiology research and quantified the proportion of studies that reported these elements in a sample of publications.

METHODS

Key methodological elements were identified from guidelines from regulatory agencies, literature, and subject-matter knowledge: source of information to determine pregnancy start; mother- or father-infant linkages (process, success rate); unit of analysis; and whether non-live births and fetuses with various anomalies were included in the study population. We conducted a literature review for recent observational studies on medical product utilization or safety during pregnancy and estimated the prevalence of reporting these elements.

RESULTS

Data were extracted from a random sample of 100 publications; 8% were published in epidemiology/pharmacoepidemiology journals; 85% were medical product-safety studies. Of publications for which each element was applicable, 43% reported the source for determining pregnancy start; 57%, whether the study population included multifetal pregnancies; 39%, whether it included more than one pregnancy per woman; 27%, whether it included fetuses with chromosomal abnormalities; 60%, fetuses with major congenital malformations; and 93%, non-live births. Of the 20 studies with mother-infant linkage, 35% described the process; 21% reported the linkage success rate. Among studies with more than one pregnancy/offspring per woman, 22% reported methods addressing sibling correlation.

CONCLUSIONS

In this sample of pregnancy-related pharmacoepidemiology publications, completeness of reporting could have been improved. A pregnancy-specific checklist would increase transparency in the dissemination of study results.