The Murine Double Minute 2 (MDM2) gene encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase that negatively regulates the tumor suppressor p53, maintaining low p53 levels through ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. MDM2 overexpression in various malignancies leads to reduced p53 activity, contributing to tumor initiation and resistance to therapies. As such, MDM2 is a promising target for drug development. Innovative small-molecule inhibitors are being designed to disrupt the MDM2-p53 interaction, thereby restoring p53’s tumor-suppressive functions. This review focuses on clinical trials evaluating MDM2 inhibition for cancer therapy. MDM2 exerts its oncogenic effects primarily through its interaction with p53 but also has p53-independent functions involved in cell cycle progression and DNA repair. Elevated MDM2 expression is associated with poor prognosis across various cancers, including dedifferentiated liposarcoma, breast cancer, and glioblastoma. Targeting MDM2 with inhibitors has shown promising potential in clinical development, aiming to reactivate p53’s functions in tumors with wild-type TP53, improving therapeutic outcomes in cancer treatment.

Background. Basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) are common human malignancies with a rising incidence in recent years. While BCCs have a low mortality rate, they are often associated with significant local skin damage characterized by erythema, skin ulceration, and persistent pigmentation. Surgery, radiotherapy, and systemic chemotherapy have traditionally been the principal treatments for these skin injuries. However, electrochemotherapy has recently been proposed as a novel local treatment with promising results for various skin cancers, including BCC, while avoiding the side effects of conventional therapies. ECT involves a local electrical stimulus that enhances cell membrane permeability, thereby enabling the targeted intracellular accumulation of the chemotherapeutic agent. Case Report: We report a case of a 68-year-old man with an ulcerated BCC, following his progress up to 14 months post-ECT treatment, with positive outcomes. Discussion and Conclusions: We achieved a complete clinical response and noted an improvement in the patient’s quality of life. This technique is fast, repeatable, requires minimal hospitalization, and reduces healthcare costs and adverse effects compared to major surgery. Therefore, it can be considered an alternative or complementary approach to traditional surgery for treating BCC of the head and neck.

Cutaneous metastases from breast carcinoma represent a debilitating complication of advanced disease progression, significantly impacting patients’ quality of life. Electrochemotherapy (ECT), which combines cytotoxic drugs such as bleomycin or cisplatin with electric pulses to enhance cellular permeability, has shown promising efficacy as a local treatment for these lesions. Objectives: This literature review examines the principles of ECT, its mechanisms of action and the clinical outcomes in patients with primary breast cancer. Across clinical series, patient-level ORR typically ranges from ~70–90% and CR up to ~58% at 6–12 weeks, with lower rates in larger (>3 cm) or deeper lesions. ECT is safe, well tolerated, and potentially synergistic with other systemic therapies. However, its efficacy is influenced by factors such as lesion size, tumor receptor status, and prior radiotherapy. Optimizing patient selection, standardizing treatment protocols, and developing combination approaches with immunotherapy or targeted therapies represent key future directions to improve clinical outcomes.

The Murine Double Minute 2 (MDM2) gene encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase that negatively regulates the tumor suppressor p53, maintaining low p53 levels through ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. MDM2 overexpression in various malignancies leads to reduced p53 activity, contributing to tumor initiation and resistance to therapies. As such, MDM2 is a promising target for drug development. Innovative small-molecule inhibitors are being designed to disrupt the MDM2-p53 interaction, thereby restoring p53’s tumor-suppressive functions. This review focuses on clinical trials evaluating MDM2 inhibition for cancer therapy. MDM2 exerts its oncogenic effects primarily through its interaction with p53, but also has p53-independent functions involved in cell cycle progression and DNA repair. Elevated MDM2 expression is associated with poor prognosis across various cancers, including dedifferentiated liposarcoma, breast cancer, and glioblastoma. Targeting MDM2 with inhibitors has shown promising potential in clinical development, aiming to reactivate p53’s functions in tumors with wild-type TP53, improving therapeutic outcomes in cancer treatment.

Background and Clinical Significance: Patent Blue V (PBV) is widely used for sentinel lymph node mapping but may rarely cause severe hypersensitivity reactions. These reactions can present atypically, with predominant cardiovascular collapse and minimal cutaneous manifestations, potentially delaying recognition and treatment. Case Presentation: We report the case of a 52-year-old woman who developed sudden and prolonged refractory hypotension shortly after PBV injection during melanoma surgery. The reaction initially occurred in the absence of bronchospasm or early significant cutaneous manifestations. Profound cardiovascular collapse preceded the delayed appearance of erythema and piloerection, making early recognition of perioperative anaphylaxis particularly challenging. Hemodynamic instability required aggressive fluid resuscitation and prolonged vasopressor support. Subsequent diagnostic work-up, including serum tryptase measurement and allergological evaluation, confirmed PBV-induced anaphylaxis. PBV-induced anaphylaxis may present with isolated cardiovascular collapse without typical clinical features. Conclusions: Early recognition and prompt hemodynamic support are essential to optimize outcomes in the perioperative setting.

Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer. While laser therapy is established for non-melanoma skin cancers, its role in melanoma remains controversial and largely unsupported by robust clinical evidence. The gold standard for melanoma management remains surgical excision, as it allows for definitive histopathological diagnosis, Breslow thickness measurement, and surgical margin assessment, which are essential for accurate staging. This narrative review analyzed preclinical and clinical studies evaluating various laser modalities, including Nd:YAG, CO₂, pulsed dye, photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), for efficacy, recurrence rates, and limitations in cutaneous melanoma management. Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) showed potential for local control in thin stage I melanomas, reporting a low local recurrence rate of 0–0.7% and favorable 5-year survival in small, non-randomized cohorts. CO₂ laser (10,600 nm) provides effective palliation and local control for in-transit or unresectable metastases, but local recurrence is highly variable, reaching up to 46.7%. Photodynamic therapy showed variable efficacy, although Chlorin e6 achieved complete local regression in a small series of metastases. A critical limitation of laser therapy is the irreversible destruction of tissue, which precludes these vital assessments. Therefore, laser treatment should be cautiously reserved for cases where standard surgery is not feasible, acknowledging that it may interfere with the evaluation of curative outcomes and accurate staging. Laser therapy is a valuable minimally invasive adjunct for local control in selected patients who are poor surgical candidates or require palliative care. Routine use is restricted by the lack of randomized controlled trials. Future studies should prioritize combination strategies with systemic or immunotherapeutic approaches to enhance overall outcomes.