Re: TERM: Solar melanosis?

[Guest guest]

,

my husband - a physician - said 'solar melanosis' in english gives exactly the

same idea as in Portuguese.

Christiane Rupp - Rio de Janeiro

[Guest guest]

At 10/02/2002 02:11 PM +1200, wrote:

>A Brazilian report on skin cancer refers to " melanose solar " , which is

>glossed in the English abstract as " solar melanosis " . I'm a little

>suspicious of this term, as I can't find it in Dorland or Merck, and the

>only Google hits for the English term come from Brazilian sites. Can

>anyone confirm whether the term is known in standard English usage, or if

>there is a preferred alternative, please?

>

>Context: Foram analisados 545 prontuários de pacientes ... segundo o perfil

>do paciente ... os tumores em relação ao sexo, a localização de cada tipo,

>sua associação com a ceratose actínica e/o *melanose solar*, história de

>tratamento de tumor de pele anterior ... "

I've never heard the term used in English; and like you, I get no hits for

English.edu sites on Google, and only three hits without the .edu, and

they're all Brazilian sites. I would suspect that either this is a concept

that has not gained acceptance in the English-language medical world, or it

is called something else.

In cases like this, I try to use other information in the journal article

to help find the term in English. One source might be the list of

references at the end of the article, if you have one. Another way is to

use descriptive terms that you find in the article (i.e., any words/phrases

they use to describe " solar melanosis " ) and put those into Google, and see

what you come out with in English. I actually thought it might be " actinic

keratosis " but then I saw that " ceratose actinica " was mentioned right

before " melanose solar " in your sentence. Hmmmm.

Using " actinic keratosis " and " melanosis " as keywords, at

http://path.upmc.edu/cases/case97/dx.html

I got an article on lentigo maligna which includes the following:

LM may be defined as a rather large, haphazardly pigmented macule on

sun-damaged skin, usually in the elderly, consisting of a non-nested

proliferation of variably atypical melanocytes within an atrophic epidermis

(9). Other terms for LM include Hutchinson's freckle, senile freckle,

circumscribed precancerous melanosis, lentigo malin des viellards,

melanosis premaligna, melanosis circumscripta preblastomatosa, and

precancerous non-nevoid melanocytoma. LM is important because of its

developmental relationship to invasive melanoma. However, there has been

much debate as to whether LM should be classified as intraepidermal (in

situ) melanoma or a unique variety of intraepidermal melanocytic dysplasia

(9, 10). <snip>

I don't know if any of that description fits your " solar melanosis " ? Then I

also saw

Wagner RF Jr, Grande DJ, Bhawan J, et al. Unilateral dermatomal superficial

telangiectasia overlapping *Becker's melanosis*. Int J Dermatol 28:595-596,

1989.

and

.... 37:559-563 (1997). Honda M, Suzuki T, Kudoh K, Tagami H: Bowen's

disease developing

within a *Becker's melanosis (Becker's naevus)*. Br.J.Dermatol. ...

so I checked for " solar nevus/naevus " but got no hits.

There is one other phrase that includes the term " melanosis " that has

popped up in my searching, " primary acquired melanosis " , but it seems to be

confined to the conjunctiva of the eye:

Primary acquired melanosis (PAM) is patchy, flat, acquired conjunctival

pigmentation. Histologically, PAM may have one of two main patterns: <snip>

so I don't know if that is what you are looking for.

I've also found something called " Riehl's melanosis " , but it appears to be

a type of contact dermatitis, so would probably not be the term you're

looking for, which would logically have a sun-related cause.

And finally (I really need to get started on my own work, I'm kind of

procrastinating here ;-), I found " solar léntigo " on a Spanish site, and

then found " solar lentigo " (= " liver spots " ) in English:

Solar lentigo is the medical term for " liver spots. " These brownish, flat,

round or oval spots are a result of sun exposure over many years and

usually start showing up when people hit their 40s.

Maybe this is what you're looking for?

HTH,

Marla

now looking around for something else to do before getting to work...

--

Marla J.F. O'Neill, M.D., M.P.H.

Medical Translation & Editing

French/Spanish/Italian>English

[Guest guest]

What about " solar/actinic lentigo/lentigines " ?

<<Lentigo. Small circumscribed melanoses resembling,

but differing histologically from, freckles.>>

[MeSH]

Re: TERM: Solar melanosis?

At 10/02/2002 02:11 PM +1200, wrote:

>A Brazilian report on skin cancer refers to " melanose solar " , which is

>glossed in the English abstract as " solar melanosis " . I'm a little

>suspicious of this term, as I can't find it in Dorland or Merck, and the

>only Google hits for the English term come from Brazilian sites. Can

>anyone confirm whether the term is known in standard English usage, or if

>there is a preferred alternative, please?

>

>Context: Foram analisados 545 prontuários de pacientes ... segundo o perfil

>do paciente ... os tumores em relação ao sexo, a localização de cada tipo,

>sua associação com a ceratose actínica e/o *melanose solar*, história de

>tratamento de tumor de pele anterior ... "

I've never heard the term used in English; and like you, I get no hits for

English.edu sites on Google, and only three hits without the .edu, and

they're all Brazilian sites. I would suspect that either this is a concept

that has not gained acceptance in the English-language medical world, or it

is called something else.

In cases like this, I try to use other information in the journal article

to help find the term in English. One source might be the list of

references at the end of the article, if you have one. Another way is to

use descriptive terms that you find in the article (i.e., any words/phrases

they use to describe " solar melanosis " ) and put those into Google, and see

what you come out with in English. I actually thought it might be " actinic

keratosis " but then I saw that " ceratose actinica " was mentioned right

before " melanose solar " in your sentence. Hmmmm.

Using " actinic keratosis " and " melanosis " as keywords, at

http://path.upmc.edu/cases/case97/dx.html

<http://path.upmc.edu/cases/case97/dx.html>

I got an article on lentigo maligna which includes the following:

LM may be defined as a rather large, haphazardly pigmented macule on

sun-damaged skin, usually in the elderly, consisting of a non-nested

proliferation of variably atypical melanocytes within an atrophic epidermis

(9). Other terms for LM include Hutchinson's freckle, senile freckle,

circumscribed precancerous melanosis, lentigo malin des viellards,

melanosis premaligna, melanosis circumscripta preblastomatosa, and

precancerous non-nevoid melanocytoma. LM is important because of its

developmental relationship to invasive melanoma. However, there has been

much debate as to whether LM should be classified as intraepidermal (in

situ) melanoma or a unique variety of intraepidermal melanocytic dysplasia

(9, 10). <snip>

I don't know if any of that description fits your " solar melanosis " ? Then I

also saw

Wagner RF Jr, Grande DJ, Bhawan J, et al. Unilateral dermatomal superficial

telangiectasia overlapping *Becker's melanosis*. Int J Dermatol 28:595-596,

1989.

and

.... 37:559-563 (1997). Honda M, Suzuki T, Kudoh K, Tagami H: Bowen's

disease developing

within a *Becker's melanosis (Becker's naevus)*. Br.J.Dermatol. ...

so I checked for " solar nevus/naevus " but got no hits.

There is one other phrase that includes the term " melanosis " that has

popped up in my searching, " primary acquired melanosis " , but it seems to be

confined to the conjunctiva of the eye:

Primary acquired melanosis (PAM) is patchy, flat, acquired conjunctival

pigmentation. Histologically, PAM may have one of two main patterns: <snip>

so I don't know if that is what you are looking for.

I've also found something called " Riehl's melanosis " , but it appears to be

a type of contact dermatitis, so would probably not be the term you're

looking for, which would logically have a sun-related cause.

And finally (I really need to get started on my own work, I'm kind of

procrastinating here ;-), I found " solar léntigo " on a Spanish site, and

then found " solar lentigo " (= " liver spots " ) in English:

Solar lentigo is the medical term for " liver spots. " These brownish, flat,

round or oval spots are a result of sun exposure over many years and

usually start showing up when people hit their 40s.

Maybe this is what you're looking for?

HTH,

Marla

now looking around for something else to do before getting to work...

--

Marla J.F. O'Neill, M.D., M.P.H.

Medical Translation & Editing

French/Spanish/Italian>English

[Guest guest]

I would use this expression in everyda's spoken language:skin cancer caused

by exposure to the sunlight. I believe that this is also the most elegant and

appropriate.

I am a native italian interpreter and I would prefer to use good expression

and omitt the jargon.

Thanks,

Rosie Graziani

[Guest guest]

Sorry, did I understand correctly?

Are you proposing to substitute " skin cancer caused by

exposure to the sunlight " for " solar melanosis " ?

That's perhaps a most elegant, but surely not the most

appropriate solution, because you are turning a benign

condition, an hyperpigmentation, into a skin cancer of

we-don't-know-what type. Is it a melanoma? Is it a basal

cell carcinoma? Is it a squamous cell carcinoma? Is it

any other type of skin cancer?

Unfortunately, there's still a difference between

everyday spoken language, written language, scientific

vocabulary, and jargon. Things would be much easier for

us, medical translators, without these differences.

Re: TERM: Solar melanosis?

I would use this expression in everyda's spoken language:skin cancer caused

by exposure to the sunlight. I believe that this is also the most elegant

and

appropriate.

I am a native italian interpreter and I would prefer to use good expression

and omitt the jargon.

Thanks,

Rosie Graziani

[Guest guest]

I lost you! I know that melanoma means cancer but the type is?

Thanks, Rosie

[Guest guest]

The first question, Rosie, is that you were suggesting to

substitute " skin cancer " for " melanosis " . However, melanosis

is not a skin cancer. Melanoma is, but melanosis is not

melanoma.

The second is that " skin cancer " is a very broad term

encompassing melanomas, basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell

carcinomas, trichilemmomas, syringocystadenocarcinomas, and

so on and so forth.

Re: TERM: Solar melanosis?

I lost you! I know that melanoma means cancer but the type is?

Thanks, Rosie