Malignant melanoma may strike again

Individuals diagnosed with malignant melanoma of the skin have an increased risk developing the same later. Malignant melanoma is a serious form of cancer that usually starts in the skin, either in a mole or normal-looking skin. The incidence of this cancer is increasing. Most skin cancers occur on areas of the skin that are regularly exposed to sunlight or other ultraviolet radiation. Researchers from the Institut Universitaire de Medicine Sociale et Preventive, Lausanne, Switzerland, examined the risk of a second primary malignant melanoma in patients treated for a first malignant melanoma using data from a population-based cohort of 3,439 patients diagnosed between 1974 and 2003. A total of 43 cases of second malignant melanoma were observed - significantly more than the expected number of cases - about 9. Individuals who were 50 years old or younger appeared to be most susceptible to a second malignant melanoma. Out of the 43 cases of second malignant melanomas, 31 were at a different site than the first skin cancer and 12 were at the same site as the first cancer. The cumulative risk of second malignant melanoma at 20 years was roughly 5 percent. These findings clearly show that the risk of malignant melanoma of the skin is substantially increased in people with a history of this cancer.