SUPERNUMERARY NIPPLES OCCURRING TOGETHER WITH BECKERS NEVUS - AN ASSOCIATION INVOLVING ONE COMMON PARADOMINANT TRAIT

Supernumerary nipples (SNs) are develepmental anomalies located along the embryonic mammary lines. Their frequency ranges from 0.22% to 6% d epending on various factors, including sex, race, ethnic group and geo graphical area (De Cholnoky 1951). In a recently performed case-contro l study dealing with adult Caucasian subjects, SNs were found in 5.5% of them (Urbani and Betti 1996a). SNs usually occur sporadically; fami lial aggregation is reported in 10% of cases (Leung 1988). Becker's na evus (BN) was first described in 1949 under the original definition of ''concurrent melanosis and hypertrichosis in distribution of naevus u nius lateris'' (Becker 1949). This cutaneous disorder commonly occurs as a unilateral hyperpigmented and hypertrichotic patch located on the trunk and becoming clinically apparent after puberty under hormonal i nfluences (Person and Longcope 1984). In the general population its fr equency is about 0.5% (Tymen et al. 1981). Most of the cases are spora dic although familial aggregation has been documented in some instance s (Jain and Fisher 1989). Skeletal anomalies or boast hypoplasia may b e associated clinical findings (Glinick et al. 1983).