Keep your English up to scratch!...
Philip Bastable Didier Carnet Jean-Pierre Charpy
Medical English Department, Dijon School of Medicine
didier.carnet@u-bourgogne.fr
Dear readers,
Are you ready to brush up your derma- tological English? It is our very great pleasure to present the twenty-third English corner based on the giant con- genital melanocytic nevus (GCMN).
Don't forget you can use a dictionary to help you with the text, and of course, you should visit our website at http://anglais- medical.u-bourgogne.fr/ to work on your pronunciation or build your medical vocabulary. The site also includes a talking dictionary, medical videos, exer- cises, clinical cases, words and expres- sions for specialists. . .
A giant congenital melanocytic nevus (GCMN) is a dark-coloured patch of skin1that is present at birth2and gets larger as the child grows older. It affects roughly3one in 20,000 infants4world- wide5. It frequently occurs on the trunk6 or limbs7, hence8 the name
bathing trunk9 nevus. The nevus is considered giant if it is more than 20cm in diameter by adulthood. These giant nevi can occur in people of any racial or ethnic background10and on any area of the body; they are often hairy11. GCMN is generally not inherited but arises from12 a somatic (post-conception) mutation in the body's cells leading to13 excessive growth of melanocytes, the cells in the skin that are responsible for skin colour.
People with giant congenital nevi may have no other symptoms or may have several symptoms such as fragile, dry, or itchy skin. In about 5% to 10% of cases, the giant congenital nevus is associated with neurocutaneous melanocytosis, which means excess pigment cells in the brain or spinal cord14. These cells may be spread out15or grouped together in clusters16. Their growth can cause increased pressure in the brain, leading to headache, vomiting, irritability, sei- zures17, and movement problems.
GCMN is also associated with an in- creased risk of developing malignant melanoma, especially if the nevus is sited18on the vertebral column or when there are numerous associated lesions (satellites).
Treatment for GCMN depends on the age of the affected individual as well as the size19, location, and thickness20 of the nevus.
The treatment consists mainly of sur- gery to remove21the nevus. When this is not possible, other treatments, includ- ing dermabrasion, chemical peels, abla- tive laser therapy, curettage or facial excision can be used. In most cases, when there are no neurological pro- blems, the prognosis is good, but the lesions must be examined regularly to look for signs of benign or malignant tumours.
Surgery is particularly recommended if there is any likelihood22 that the GCMN may develop into a melanoma.
When small nevi are removed, the surrounding skin can often be pulled together with stitches23. Larger nevi may need to be removed in several stages24 and full-thickness skin grafts may be needed to help the skin heal25 following surgery.
Procedures such as dermabrasion and laser therapy may be used to lighten26 the skin or remove hair, but they cannot completely remove the nevus and the effects may only be temporary.
Concerning the genetic aspects, muta- tions in theNRASgene cause most cases of GCMN. In rare cases, mutations in the BRAF gene cause this condition. Somat- ic NRAS or BRAF gene mutations cause the altered27protein in affected cells to be permanently turned on28. The over- active protein may allow cells that develop into melanocytes to grow and divide uncontrollably thus causing GCMN. A somatic mutation in one copy of theNRASorBRAFgene is sufficient to cause this disorder.
1. Area of skin (= tache)
2. After delivery (=a la naissance) 3. Approximately (= environ) 4. Very young child (= nourrisson) 5. Around the world (=a l' echelle mondiale)
6. Thorax and abdomen (= tronc) 7. arms and legs (= membres) 8. thus (= d'où)
9. swimsuit (= maillot de bain)
doi:10.1684/dm.2019.128
76 DermatoMag- N81 - janvier - fevrier - mars - 2019
LE MAG CULTUREL
English corner
10. origin (= origine) 11. pilous (= poilus)
12. comes from (= provient de) 13. resulting in (= conduisanta) 14. content of the vertebral canal (= moelle epinière)
15. disseminated (= dissemines) 16. groups (= amas)
17. convulsions (= convulsions) 18. located (= situe)
19. dimensions (= taille) 20. depth (=epaisseur) 21. excise (= exciser)
22. probability (= probabilite) 23. sutures (= points de suture) 24. steps (=etapes)
25. return to normal (= cicatriser) 26. make paler (=eclaircir) 27. modified (= modifie) 28. activated (= active)
Exercice 1. Trouver la forme complete des acronymes suivants frequemment utilises en dermatology :
Ex. GCMN!Giant congenital malano- cytic nevus
1. CLE 2. CSD
3. HZ 4. MM 5. SCC 6. UVB 7. EN 8. CTCL
9. HPV
Exercice 2. Trouver le pluriel irregulier des noms suivants : Ex. nevus!nevi
prognosis!prognoses 1. bacterium
2. diagnosis 3. criterion 4. embolus 5. species 6. focus 7. nucleus 8. bronchus 9. hypothesis 10. ovum
1.
Chronic Lupus Erythematosus
(=
lupus eryth emateux chroni-
que) 2.
CatScratch Disease(=
maladie
desgriffes duchat)
3.
HerpesZoster (=zona)
4.
MalignantMelanoma
(=m
elanome)
5.
SquamousCell Carcinoma
(=carcinoma
epidermoïde)
6.
UltraViolet B(
=u ltraviolets B)
7.
ErythemaNodosum
(=
erythème
noueux) 8.
CutaneousT-Cell Lymphoma
(=lymphoma Tcutan
e)
9.
HumanPapilloma Virus(=
pap-
illomavirus humain)
1.
1.bacteria
2.
diagnoses
3.
criteria
4.
emboli
5.
species
6.
foci 7.
nuclei 8.
bronchi
9.
hypotheses
10.
ova
DermatoMag- N81 - janvier - fevrier - mars - 2019 77
