Alopecia areata is a relatively common autoimmune condition. It has an unpredictable course and its etiology has not yet been fully elucidated. Its treatment must be individualized, and aims at suppressing the phase of activity of the disease. Thus, many alternatives are available; however, none of them have been curative or preventive so far. We report the cases of two patients, aged 18 and 43 years, diagnosed with alopecia areata, who underwent topical immunotherapy with diphencyprone, and obtained different results. The application procedures, the results obtained and the clinical follow-up are described.

Keywords: THERAPEUTICS; IMMUNOTHERAPY; ALOPECIA AREATA; AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES

The Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare tumor of neuroendocrine and epidermal origin and with poor prognosis. It is classically associated with immunosuppression, exposure to the sunlight and, more recently, with the polyomavirus. It is positive for epithelial and neuroendocrine markers. The combined expression of these markers confirms the diagnosis. Polyomavirus tumors have an unfavorable prognosis. The authors report a case of Merkel cell carcinoma with atypical immunophenotype (CK20 negative) and aggressive behavior. The present report is aimed at highlighting the importance of dermatologists having knowledge of different immunophenotypes that may be associated with the Merkel cell carcinoma.

Keywords: CARCINOMA, MERKEL CELL; IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY; MERKEL CELL POLYOMAVIRUS