J Am Acad Dermatol
November 2012
In recent years, there have been increasing efforts to identify germline genetic variants that may alter melanoma susceptibility and prognosis. The findings of these studies have indicated the presence of rare, high-penetrance alleles with large effects, such as CDKN2A and CDK4, more common, moderately penetrant genes like MC1R, and very common, low-penetrance polymorphisms with small effects that are related to pigmentation, nevus count, immune responses, DNA repair, metabolism, and the vitamin D receptor. The study of these low-penetrance single nucleotide polymorphisms is relatively new; thus many of them are termed 'candidate melanoma susceptibility or prognostic genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe term angiosarcoma, encompasses several neoplasms, all of which exhibit a malignant process derived from endothelial cells of the vessels. The most common form of angiosarcoma is highly aggressive, often fatal, and usually affects the head and neck region of elderly white men. Other low-grade forms of angiosarcoma, including papillary intralymphatic angioendothelioma, also known as Dabska tumor, are less invasive, affect a wider age range, and offer a better prognosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe International Society for Clinical Densitometry Official Positions on reporting of densitometry results in children represent an effort to consolidate opinions to assist healthcare providers determine which skeletal sites should be assessed, which adjustments should be made in these assessments, appropriate pediatric reference databases, and elements to include in a dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) report. Skeletal sites recommended for assessment are the lumbar spine and total body less head, the latter being valuable as it provides information on soft tissue, as well as bone. Interpretation of DXA findings in children with growth or maturational delay requires special consideration; adjustments are required to prevent erroneous interpretation.
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