In this study, we presented a model that can help to predict the risk of SG formation, including family history of SG, BMI before pregnancy, birthweight and chronic diseases. Moreover, women with stretch marks on their breasts should know that the risk of SG development is significantly higher, whereas lesions on the thighs do not increase such a risk.

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Digit ratio (2D:4D) – a proxy for prenatal sex steroids – shows sex, nationality and ethnic differences and is linked to pubertal onset. It is unclear whether right-left 2D:4D (Dr-l) also correlates with prenatal sex steroids, as evidence of these differences has been less conclusive. The present study examined the effects of sex, nation, ethnicity, age and self-reported pubertal development (i.e. the rate of physical development and age at menarche [females] or first shave [males]) on Dr-l in a large online study (the BBC internet study). Digit lengths were self-measured in 201,865 adults (110,955 males) and the sample of nations included 41 countries. Participants reported the self-perceived rate of physical pubertal development on a five-point scale (from very slow to very fast) and provided information on the age at menarche or first shave. Adult (>17 years) males had lower Dr-l than females with weak effect size across 41 nations (males-females; d = −.065, p < .0001). There were sex and ethnicity effects on Dr-l across seven ethnic groups with males < females and lower Dr-l in Whites and Middle/Near Eastern participants compared to Asian, Black and Chinese respondents. Considering age effects, the authors focused on participants >12 years; there were stable sex differences and a weak positive effect of age on Dr-l. Dr-l showed a positive relationship with the rate of physical development and a negative relationship with age at menarche or first shave. Relationships were present in males and females with stronger effects in the latter. It is concluded that Dr-l shows a weak sex difference (males < females) independent of nation, ethnicity and age, and suggest that Dr-l is a proxy for prenatal sex steroids.

Gynecomastia surgery significantly improved men's life quality in all aspects and especially in the social aspect and psychical health. This indicates that adult men with gynecomastia are a specific group of patients, in which surgery may result in life quality improvement even over the average scores.

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A prenatal sex steroid environment of high prenatal testosterone and low prenatal oestrogen inhibits lung development and may predispose individuals to be vulnerable to lung disease in later life. Therefore, the aim of this report was to investigate whether there is an association between right and left 2D:4D (biomarker of prenatal sex steroids exposure) and primary lung cancer in women and men. Also, we considered the relationship between right-left 2D:4D (Δ2D:4D, a negative correlate of high prenatal testosterone and low prenatal oestrogen) and the age of lung cancer diagnosis. The study included 109 patients (61 men) with lung cancer and 197 controls (78 men). In the study we found that: (i) women with lung cancer have lower 2D:4D compared to controls (the effect was independent of smoking), (ii) among women with cancer, age at diagnosis was positively related to 2D:4D, i.e. women with masculinized 2D:4D present earlier with the cancer than women with feminized 2D:4D, (iii) among men with lung cancer, those with the most aggressive form (small-cell lung cancer) had masculinized (low) Δ2D:4D compared to those with the less aggressive form (non-small cell lung cancer). The data suggests that masculinized right 2D:4D and Δ2D:4D are associated with a predisposition to lung cancer and/or the more aggressive forms of lung cancer. Among both women and men, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death and in most nations, it is the most frequent neoplasm among men 1,2. The incidence of lung cancer is both age-and sex-dependent. With regard to age, rates are low in people younger than 40 years but with increases up to the age of 75-80 years. However, with regard to sex, lung cancer rates have tended to show a decline in men but an increase among women. An important causal factor in these patterns is smoking practices 3-5. The comparisons between those that smoke and never-smokers regularly show 20 to 50-fold increases in risk for the former. Moreover, duration of smoking is a strong correlate of lung cancer risk 6 and sex dependent changes in mortality reflects changes in rates of smoking among age-cohorts of women and men 7,8. However, there are risk factors other than smoking and these include various single nucleotide polymorphisms, family history, diet, alcohol, chronic lung diseases, occupational factors, air pollution and hormonal factors 9-13. With regard to hormonal factors, postnatal effects of endogenous sex steroids may have an influence on lung cancer risk. Receptors for oestrogen and progesterone are expressed in lung cells, of both normal and lung cancer lines. Oestradiol causes proliferation of lung cancer cells as do combinations of oestrogen and progesterone. The latter combination facilitates secretion of vascular endothelial growth factors and increases numbers of progenitor tumour cells 14,15. Local production of oestrogens in the lung, either by lung cells or by infiltrating macrophages and other inflammatory cells, may be a significant source of oestrogen that could drive the tumour process, i...

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