title: Prevalence of Café-au-Lait Spots in children with solid tumors.
abstract: Cafe-au-lait maculae (CALM) are frequently observed in humans, and usually are present as a solitary spot. Multiple CALMs are present in a smaller fraction of the population and are usually associated with other congenital anomalies as part of many syndromes. Most of these syndromes carry an increased risk of cancer development. Previous studies have indicated that minor congenital anomalies may be more prevalent in children with cancer. We investigated the prevalence of CALMs in two samples of Brazilian patients with childhood solid tumors, totaling 307 individuals. Additionally, 176 school children without diagnosis of cancer, or of a cancer predisposing syndrome, were investigated for the presence of CALMs. The prevalence of solitary CALM was similar in both study groups (18% and 19%) and also in the group of children without cancer. Multiple CALMs were more frequently observed in one of the study groups (Z = 2.1). However, when both groups were analyzed together, the significance disappeared (Z = 1.5). The additional morphological abnormalities in children with multiple CALMs were analyzed and compared to the findings observed in the literature. The nosologic entities associated with CALMs are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Anna Claudia Evangelista Dos
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Pediatria, AC Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Heck
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Pediatria, AC Camargo Cancer Center, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.|Departamento de Oncologia Pediátrica, Instituto Nacional de Cancer, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz De
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Camargo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Departamento de Genética, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, SP, Brazil.|Laboratório de Epidemiologia de Malformações Congênitas, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando Regla
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Vargas