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Study finds patients with melanoma are at increased risk for new tumors
October 06, 2005Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) researchers have found that melanoma patients with a family history of melanoma and/or dysplastic nevi (abnormal moles) are at high risk of developing multiple primary melanomas (MPM). Researchers recommend more intensive follow up for these high-risk patients. The results of this study, which will appear in the October 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), emphasize the importance of intensive dermatologic screenings for this population to identify melanoma at its earliest stage.
"Since melanoma patients with a positive family history and/or dysplastic nevi were found to be at higher risk for multiple primary melanomas, we recommend that these patients not only undergo more frequent and intensive dermatologic screening, but also practice self-exams," said Dr. Daniel Coit, co-leader of the MSKCC Melanoma Disease Management Team and senior author of the study.
The study is the first to utilize a multidisciplinary, single-institution database to identify the characteristics of patients at risk for developing MPM. Researchers prospectively followed 4484 melanoma patients treated at MSKCC. They found that:
385 patients (8.6 percent) had two or more primary melanomas, with an average of 2.3 melanomas per MPM patient;
78 percent of MPM patients had two primary melanomas with 59 percent having had a second primary melanoma detected within one year of the initial melanoma;
The estimated five-year risk of MPM is significantly higher for melanoma patients with a positive family history (18.5 percent) or dysplastic nevi (23.7 percent).
"The most striking increase we found was the likelihood that patients would develop a third primary melanoma in a relatively short period of time after they had developed a second primary melanoma," said Cristina Ferrone, MD, second year surgical fellow at MSKCC and the study's lead author. "The risk of a third primary for these patients was as high as15.6 percent after one year and over 30 percent at five years." "While second and third primary melanomas are treatable, this study shows the need for doctors and patients to be more vigilant in dermatologic screening, self-examination and in close monitoring of multiple atypical nevi," commented Alan Halpern, MD, Chief of the Dermatology Service at MSKCC and co-author of the study.
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. It is the fifth most common cancer among American men and the sixth most common among American women. In 2005, the rate of melanoma in the United States is predicted to rise by three percent to an estimated 59,580 new cases. This increasing incidence puts a greater portion of the population at risk not only for one primary melanoma but also for subsequent primary melanomas.
The study's other co-authors were Leah Ben Porat, Katherine S. Panageas, DrPH, Marianne Berwick, and Ami Patel. The melanoma database used for the study is a product of MSKCC's Melanoma Disease Management Team. This is a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, medical oncologists, dermatologists, and other medical professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
385 patients (8.6 percent) had two or more primary melanomas, with an average of 2.3 melanomas per MPM patient;
78 percent of MPM patients had two primary melanomas with 59 percent having had a second primary melanoma detected within one year of the initial melanoma;
The estimated five-year risk of MPM is significantly higher for melanoma patients with a positive family history (18.5 percent) or dysplastic nevi (23.7 percent).
"The most striking increase we found was the likelihood that patients would develop a third primary melanoma in a relatively short period of time after they had developed a second primary melanoma," said Cristina Ferrone, MD, second year surgical fellow at MSKCC and the study's lead author. "The risk of a third primary for these patients was as high as15.6 percent after one year and over 30 percent at five years." "While second and third primary melanomas are treatable, this study shows the need for doctors and patients to be more vigilant in dermatologic screening, self-examination and in close monitoring of multiple atypical nevi," commented Alan Halpern, MD, Chief of the Dermatology Service at MSKCC and co-author of the study.
Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. It is the fifth most common cancer among American men and the sixth most common among American women. In 2005, the rate of melanoma in the United States is predicted to rise by three percent to an estimated 59,580 new cases. This increasing incidence puts a greater portion of the population at risk not only for one primary melanoma but also for subsequent primary melanomas.
The study's other co-authors were Leah Ben Porat, Katherine S. Panageas, DrPH, Marianne Berwick, and Ami Patel. The melanoma database used for the study is a product of MSKCC's Melanoma Disease Management Team. This is a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, medical oncologists, dermatologists, and other medical professionals who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma.
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Melanoma Current Events and Melanoma News RSSLaser therapy can aggravate skin cancer
High irradiances of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) should not be used over melanomas.
Quarter of a million children in England at risk of skin cancer from sunbeds
An estimated quarter of a million 11-17 year olds in England are being put at increased risk of developing malignant melanoma by using sunbeds, warn researchers in a letter to this week's BMJ.
Hundreds of genes distinguish patients likely to survive advanced melanoma
Although the chances of surviving advanced melanoma aren't very good with current therapies, some patients can live for years with cancer that has spread beyond the skin to other organs.
New Notre Dame study provides insights into the molecular basis of tumor cell behavior
A new study by a team of researchers led by Crislyn D'Souza-Schorey, associate professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, sheds light on the molecular basis by which tumor cells modulate their surroundings to favor cancer progression.
Switching immunosuppressants reduces cancer risk in kidney
Switching to a newer type of immunosuppressant drug may reduce the high rate of skin cancer after kidney transplantation, according to research being presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, CA.
Cancer survivors may not be getting the help they need to stop smoking
More than a quarter of cancer survivors who still smoke have not been advised to quit smoking by their health care providers in the last year, according to a study published by researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in the current issue of the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Melanoma treatment options 1 step closer
A targeted chemotherapy for the treatment of skin cancer is one step closer, after a team of University of Alberta researchers successfully synthesized a natural substance that shows exceptional potential to specifically treat this often fatal disease.
Resident physicians seldom trained in skin cancer examination
Many resident physicians are not trained in skin cancer examinations, nor have they ever observed or practiced the procedure.
New findings on the formation of body pigment
The skin's pigment cells can be formed from completely different cells than has hitherto been thought, a new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows. The results, which are published in the journal Cell, also mean the discovery of a new kind of stem cell.
Studying cancer in pet dogs to find new treatments for human patients
A team of scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Bethesda, USA, says that studying pet dogs with cancer could yield valuable information on how to diagnose and treat human cancers.
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