The problem of ageing societies is soon going to become a major challenge for the health care systems in the world. The Polish specialist literature is more and more concerned with the health problems of elderly people and that is why this issue of „Progress in Medicine” presents mainly papers on various themes in this field. I hope that the problems in this series of articles will interest a wide range of readers.

Molecular biology techniques have been dynamically developing over the last decades. Two very interesting original papers pertain to molecular research on non-melanoma skin neoplasms (Department of Molecular Biology, Department and Clinic of Dermatology, Department of Cosmetology, Institute of Skin Structure Research of the Medical University of Silesia).The first paper presents the role of the transforming growth factor beta in basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and kerathoacanthoma (KA). The aim of the paper was to compare the profile of 1050 mRNA concentrations – genes connected with TGFβ signalling pathways in samples from BCC, SCC and KA, in relation to normal skin, and to identify the genes that are essentially different in the analysed groups of transcriptomes. The authors report that a significant reduction of the transcriptional activity of TGFBR3 gene, along with a light reduction of TGFBR3 gene expression in SCC and BCC, and overexpression of TGFB1 may be considered a complementary marker in differentiating carcinoma from kerathoacantoma.

The other paper refers to the role of the DEFB4A defensin in differentiating and identification of KA, SCC and BCC. The authors believe that DEFB4A defensin is a useful tool to identify and differentiate KA, SCC and BCC. KA and SCC cannot be differentiated on the basis of the DEFB4A level.

Beata Bergler-Czop from the Department and Clinic of Dermatology of the Medical University of Silesia in her original paper presents the problem of bullous pemphigoid cases in dermatology wards in the Silesian region over fourteen years. This condition usually affects elderly people. The relative risk of developing it at the age of 90 is almost 300 times higher than at the age of 60. In our material, the mean age was 71.13 ± 11.8. The frequency of pemphigoid cases in different age groups as well as its co-occurrence with cancers and other conditions were analysed. The literature estimates the number of internal organ cancers as 15-20% (our findings were similar). Whether the frequency of cancer cases in patients over 70 years of age corresponds to the frequency in the population is still questionable.