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Summary: Background: Although ultraviolet (UV) phototherapy is an effective treatment for vitiligo, its effect on the risk of skin cancer remains controversial. Aim: To investigate the association between UV phototherapy and skin cancer risk in patients with vitiligo. Methods: A systematic review was performed for studies published before 5 May 2021 in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases. The primary outcome was the association of UV phototherapy with the risk of skin cancer in patients with vitiligo. A meta‐analysis with a random‐effects model was conducted. Results: Five retrospective cohort studies covering a total of 228 607 patients with vitiligo (110 038 who had been treated with UV phototherapy and 118 569 patients who had not) were included in the meta‐analysis. The risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer [Mantel–Haenszel risk ratio (MHRR) = 0.95; 95% CI 0.44–2.05] and melanoma (MHRR = 1.11; 95% CI 0.33–3.82) did not significantly increase after phototherapy in patients with vitiligo. In the subgroup analysis, we also found no significant association between phototherapy with narrowband UVB phototherapy specifically and risk of skin cancer in patients with vitiligo. There was no significant difference in risk of skin cancer between patients from Europe and those from East Asia and the risk was not affected by the number of narrowband UVB phototherapy sessions. Conclusions: The findings of this systematic review and meta‐analysis suggest that UV phototherapy is a safe treatment for vitiligo with no significant risk of skin cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Vivipary with precocious seedlings in mangrove plants was thought to be a hindrance to long-range dispersal. To examine the extent of seedling dispersal across oceans, we investigated the phylogeny and genetic structure among East Asiatic populations of Kandelia candel based on organelle DNAs. In total, three, 28 and seven haplotypes of the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) atp B-rbc L spacer, cpDNA trn L-trn F spacer, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) were identified, respectively, from 202 individuals. Three data sets suggested consistent phylogenies recovering two differentiated lineages corresponding to geographical regions, i.e. northern South-China-Sea + East-China-Sea region and southern South-China-Sea region (Sarawak). Phylogenetically, the Sarawak population was closely related to the Ranong population of western Peninsula Malaysia instead of other South-China-Sea populations, indicating its possible origin from the Indian Ocean Rim. No geographical subdivision was detected within the northern geographical region. An analysis of molecular variance (amova) revealed low levels of genetic differentiation between and within mainland and island populations (ΦCT = 0.015, ΦSC = 0.037), indicating conspicuous long-distance seedling dispersal across oceans. Significant linkage disequilibrium excluded the possibility of recurrent homoplasious mutations as the major force causing phylogenetic discrepancy between mtDNA and the trn L-trn F spacer within the northern region. Instead, relative ages of alleles contributed to nonrandom chlorotype–mitotype associations and tree inconsistency. Widespread distribution and random associations (χ2 = 0.822, P = 0.189) of eight hypothetical ancestral cytotypes indicated the panmixis of populations of the northern geographical region as a whole. In contrast, rare and recently evolved alleles were restricted to marginal populations, revealing... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]