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Risk Factors of Melanoma
melanoma risk factors

Risk Factors of Melanoma

A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease such as melanoma. Different cancers have different risk factors. Having a risk factor, or even several risk factors, does not mean that you will get the disease. And many people who get the disease may not have had any known risk factors.

Ultraviolet (UV) Light Exposure

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is thought to be a major risk factor for most melanomas. Sunlight is a source of UV radiation, which can damage the genes in your skin cells. According to the National Cancer Institute, UVA radiation may cause skin damage that can lead to skin cancer. UVB radiation, which causes sunburn, can impair the genetic material that controls cell division, potentially leading to skin cancer. Every time you burn your skin, you increase your risk of developing skin cancer. Many studies have linked the development of melanoma to frequent sunburns (especially in childhood). People who have had one or more severe, blistering sunburns as a child or teenager are at increased risk of skin cancer as an adult.

Tanning lamps and booths are also sources of UV radiation. In June 2009, scientists from nine countries met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer to examine data associating tanning beds with the risk of skin cancer. Their review concluded that the risk of melanoma increases by 75 percent when use of tanning beds and sunlamps begins before 30 years of age. In addition, several studies provided evidence of a link between the use of UV-emitting tanning devices and melanoma of the eye.

Moles

A nevus (the medical name for a mole) is a benign (non-cancerous) melanocytic tumor. Most moles will never cause any problems, but a person who has many moles is more likely to develop melanoma. Anyone with lots of irregular or large moles has an increased risk for melanoma.

Fair Skin, Freckling, and Light Hair

The risk of melanoma is more than 10 times higher for whites than for African Americans. This is because skin pigment has a protective effect. Whites with red or blond hair or fair skin that freckles or burns easily are at increased risk. Red-haired people have the highest risk.

High Elevations

Places at high elevations receive more UV radiation than those at sea level. UV exposure is greater at high altitudes.

Family History of Melanoma

Your risk of melanoma is greater if one or more of your first-degree relatives has been diagnosed with melanoma. The increased risk may be due to a shared family lifestyle of frequent sun exposure, a family tendency to have fair skin, or a combination of both factors. It may also be due to inherited gene changes (mutations) in a family.

Personal History of Melanoma

A person who has already had melanoma has an increased risk of getting melanoma again.

Immune Suppression

Suppressing the immune system limits the body's ability to recognize cancer cells and eliminate them. People who have chronic leukemias, other cancers or HIV/AIDS, and those who have received organ transplants or who are taking medications that suppress the immune system, have an increased risk of developing melanoma.

Age

Although melanoma is less related to aging than most other cancers, it is still more likely to occur in older people. But this is one of the few cancers that is also found in younger people. Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in people younger than age 30. Melanoma that runs in families may occur at a younger age.

Gender

Men have a higher rate of melanoma than women.

Information on this page has been cited from the Melanoma Research Foundation (www.melanoma.org) - 2011