Mutations in the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor-2A (CDKN2A) gene have been associated with a number of malignancies, most notably cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). Mutations in this gene have also been associated with pancreatic cancer and breast cancer, as well as astrocytomas and other nervous system tumors (NST). Among NST, rare solitary internal neurofibromas have been reported, but multiple cutaneous neurofibromas have only been described in two families. In the first family, the affected individuals all carried a heterozygous G>C mutation at the splice acceptor site of intron 1 resulting in skipping of CDKN2A exon 2, while the affected individuals in the second family had a deletion that encompassed the whole CDKN2A/CDKN2B/ANRIL locus. We now report on a proposita presenting with multiple biopsy-proven cutaneous neurofibromas and a solitary spinal neurofibroma found to have a deletion of 14 nucleotides in exon 2 of CDKN2A, providing further evidence that p14, p16, and/or ANRIL are specifically involved in the pathogenesis of neurofibromas as a feature of the familial atypical multiple malignant melanoma spectrum.

We conducted an exploratory study of the experiences of genetic counselors who have either trained or supervised in a second language to assess the relevance of this issue to genetic counseling training and supervision. Two hundred-thirty NSGC members, CAGC members and genetic counseling students completed the online questionnaire. Many of the respondents reported that training and supervision differed when another language was involved. Supervisors reported difficulty in assessing students' counseling skills and discomfort with an incomplete understanding of session content. Students described a greater focus on vocabulary at the expense of psychosocial dimensions. Despite this, most felt that using another language enhanced their training experience. As such, training programs might consider increasing support to these learners and supervisors by explicitly acknowledging the challenges they face, providing students with language tools to aid in their acquisition of basic skills and providing supervisors with new methods for assessing student counseling skills when using other languages.

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Due to a production error, the following text was erroneously changed from the original text. The corrections are as follows: & On page 3, in the 2nd paragraph under the subhead Instrumentation, where it says "Purpose of the Study" it should read "Section 1 of the questionnaire." In the same paragraph, where it says "Methods," it should read "Section 2 of the questionnaire." And where it says "Results," it should read "section 3 of the questionnaire." & On page 5, in the first sentence under the subhead Students' Responses, "Purpose of the Study " and "Methods" should read "Sections 1 and 2." & Additionally, on page 5, in the first sentence under the header Quantitative Analysis of Supervisors' Responses to Close-Ended Questions, where it says "Results" it should read "section 3." Springer regrets the errors.