|
Melanoma is a form of cancer that develops from the pigment producing cells of the skin. If untreated it can spread through the body and is potentially fatal.
In many parts of the world melanoma is becoming more common. However, it is still unusual to have more than one case of melanoma in a single family. When more than one person in a family has a melanoma, there might be something ‘running in the family’. That ‘something’ could mean other family members are more likely to get a melanoma than people outside the family.
The following information is for people who suspect that their family carries an increased risk of melanoma. It is also for people who have been told that they have such an increased risk.
Words in bold are defined in the Glossary at the bottom of this page. |
Referral to a specialist
Families who are concerned that they may be at increased risk of melanoma are usually referred to specialist doctors. These doctors are often clinical geneticists or specialist dermatologists. They will take a family history and use this information to give advice about risk. If you are referred to such a service you can help by thinking about the sort of information they will want to know.
Questions to consider:
Who in the family has had cancer?
What type of cancer was it? (Occasionally other types of cancer can occur in families with high-risk genes.)
How old were they when they developed it?
Your family doctor or dermatologist may refer you to a clinical geneticist or specialist dermatologist if:
You have two first-degree relatives who have had melanoma. First-degree relatives are your sisters, brothers, parents or children.
You have two relatives who have had a melanoma, and one of these people has had two or more melanomas.
There are three or more people who have had melanoma in your family.
What would the clinical geneticist or specialist dermatologist do?
1. Make a ‘family tree’ by talking to family members and reviewing medical records. This tree would show family relationships, noting the types of cancers people have had and at what age.
2. They would look for possible links between those who have had cancer. Two cases in sisters will be more relevant than two cases in distant cousins.
3. They will look for cancer at an early age and people who have had more than one cancer.
4. They will then look for patterns of type of cancer within the family.
5. Having assessed the family history, they will then estimate the chances of a gene being present within the family that could lead to melanoma, and the chances of the individual family member under investigation carrying that gene.
6. In some cases they may offer the family a gene test for a gene called CDKN2A (or p16).
7. They would then suggest how to cope with and reduce their risk of developing a melanoma. Their advice would probably include sun protection measures and self-examination (see relevant sections in ‘Coping with a Diagnosis of Melanoma’).
