About Melanoma
Please note that this is general information only, and does not replace any advice you may receive from your Doctor.
- What is melanoma?
- What are the risk factors for melanoma?
- Is melanoma genetic?
- How is melanoma diagnosed and treated?
- Where do I get more information?
1. What is melanoma?
Melanoma is the most aggressive but least common form of skin cancer. However, melanoma is becoming more prevalent and has the fastest growing incidence rate of any form of cancer . It now ranks as the third most common form of cancer in Australia.
Melanoma develops in melanocytes which are the cells responsible for the pigment in our skin. If melanoma is not treated, it may spread to
other areas of the skin and other organs through the lymphatic system
or via the blood stream.
2. What are the risk factors for melanoma?
The main environmental risk factor for the development of melanoma is
exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
Established individual risk factors include:
- A presence of moles on the skin
- Having a pale complexion
- Having red or blonde hair
- Having skin that freckles, tans poorly or is sensitive to the sun
- A family history of the disease
3. Is melanoma genetic?
Melanoma appears to aggregate within families and this suggests that genes may play a role in developing melanoma.
Known genetic factors include mutations in two melanoma predisposition
genes, CDKN2A and CDK4. Mutations in these genes have been identified
in some high-risk melanoma families, however, as these mutations
account for only 25-40% of families with melanoma, it is clear that
other melanoma genes are yet to be discovered.
Other
common genes of modest effect have also been identified, including
MC1R, a gene associated with hair and skin pigmentation. Alternate or
variant forms of this gene have been linked to red hair, fair skin
and increased freckling and have been implicated in increased
melanoma risk.
It is generally considered that melanoma is a complex genetic disease
that is likely to be associated with numerous genes, each with a
relatively small effect, and environmental factors.
An aim of WAMHS is to validate these findings and also look for new
genetic causes and risk factors.
4. How is melanoma diagnosed and treated??
The Cancer Council Western Australia provides information about the
detection and treatment of melanoma and other skin cancers. Please
visit the Cancer Council Western Australia website for more information.
5. Where do I get more information?
