文本框: INCREASED PREVALENCE OF MINOR ANOMALIES IN CHILDREN WITH HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES Roganovic J1, Radojcic-Badovinac A2, Buretic-Tomljanovic A2 1 Department of Paediatrics, 2 Department of Biology, University Medical School Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia Objective: The association of childhood cancer with specific congenital malformations and chromosomal anomalies is well established. In an increasing number of these associations underlying genetic changes have been documented, identifying new genes that are involved in both organogenesis and carcinogenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between minor congenital anomalies and childhood hematological malignancies (HM). Methods: We evaluated 64 children with HM, treated between 1983 and 1997 at the Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Pediatrics, Rijeka, Croatia. 39 children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, 5 with acute myelocytic leukemia, 13 with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and 7 with Hodgkin disease were included in the study. The control group consisted of 64 healthy children of the same age and sex. For each subject the presence or absence of 65 minor anomalies was recorded. c2 test was used for statistical analysis. Results: We found an increased overall frequency of minor anomalies in children with HM compared with matched controls. Regarding individual anomalies, 37 were encountered more often in the HM patients than controls, of which only pigmented nevi and café-au-lait spots were statistically more frequent. Conclusions: The excess of minor anomalies in children with HM may suggest the same genetic background. It is proposed that minor anomalies may be the manifestation of genetic instability at the macroscopic level supplementing the spectrum of genetic instability hitherto studied at the microscopic and molecular levels. 1924