Risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma in relation to use of sunbeds: further evidence for UV-A carcinogenicity

In a population-based, matched, case–control study from southern Sweden of 571 patients with a first diagnosis of cutaneous malignant melanoma and 913 healthy controls aged 16–80 years, the association between sunbed use and malignant melanoma was evaluated. A total of 250 (44%) cases and 372 (41%) controls reported ever having used sunbeds. A significantly elevated odds ratio for developing malignant melanoma after regular exposure to sunbeds was found, adjusted for hair colour, raised naevi, skin type and number of sunburns (odds ratio (OR) 1.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.2–2.7). A dose–response relationship between total number of sunbed uses and melanoma risk was only found up to the level of 250 times. The OR was higher in individuals younger than age 36 years (adjusted OR 8.1, 95% CI 1.3–49.5 for regular vs never use). The association seemed to be true only for subjects with black/dark brown or light brown hair and among females. Lesions of the extremities showed the strongest association of increased risk with sunbed use. An increased risk was related to commercial exposure and to exposure during the winter. The results substantiate the hypothesis that exposure to sunbeds might increase the risk of developing malignant melanoma. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Risk of malignant melanoma in relation to drug intake, alcohol, smoking and hormonal factors.

In a population-based, matched case-control study from southern Sweden of 400 patients with a first diagnosis of malignant melanoma and 640 healthy control subjects aged 15-75 years, the association between commonly prescribed drugs, alcohol, smoking and malignant melanoma was evaluated. In addition, the relation between reproductive and hormonal factors and melanoma in women was studied. It was found that certain specific types of prescribed drugs, i.e. beta-blockers, hydralazines and benzodiazepines, may increase the risk of melanoma development. However, these associations were diminished, at least for benzodiazepines, after controlling for host factors. As these findings are unconfirmed, and may be due to chance or confounding, further studies are warranted. The risk of malignant melanoma was not influenced by alcohol consumption or smoking habits. Our results do not suggest an association between oral contraceptives and melanoma. Furthermore, reproductive factors were not independent risk factors for melanoma. However, increasing number of live births seemed to be protective (P for trend = 0.01). There is a need for further research to be able to draw firm conclusions on the relation between number of live births and melanoma. The results based on histopathological re-examinations and those based on tumour registry data were essentially the same

Involvement of Chromatin Remodeling Genes and the Rho GTPases RhoB and CDC42 in Ovarian Clear Cell Carcinoma

ObjectiveOvarian clear cell carcinomas (OCCCs) constitute a rare ovarian cancer subtype with distinct clinical features, but may nonetheless be difficult to distinguish morphologically from other subtypes. There is limited knowledge of genetic events driving OCCC tumorigenesis beyond ARID1A, which is reportedly mutated in 30–50% of OCCCs. We aimed to further characterize OCCCs by combined global transcriptional profiling and targeted deep sequencing of a panel of well-established cancer genes. Increased knowledge of OCCC-specific genetic aberrations may help in guiding development of targeted treatments and ultimately improve patient outcome.MethodsGene expression profiling of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue from a cohort of the major ovarian cancer subtypes (cohort 1; n = 67) was performed using whole-genome cDNA-mediated Annealing, Selection, extension and Ligation (WG-DASL) bead arrays, followed by pathway, gene module score, and gene ontology analyses, respectively. A second FFPE cohort of 10 primary OCCCs was analyzed by targeted DNA sequencing of a panel of 60 cancer-related genes (cohort 2). Non-synonymous and non-sense variants affecting single-nucleotide variations and insertions or deletions were further analyzed. A tissue microarray of 43 OCCCs (cohort 3) was used for validation by immunohistochemistry and chromogenic in situ hybridization.ResultsGene expression analyses revealed a distinct OCCC profile compared to other histological subtypes, with, e.g., ERBB2, TFAP2A, and genes related to cytoskeletal actin regulation being overexpressed in OCCC. ERBB2 was, however, not overexpressed on the protein level and ERBB2 amplification was rare in the validation cohort. Targeted deep sequencing revealed non-synonymous variants or insertions/deletions in 11/60 cancer-related genes. Genes involved in chromatin remodeling, including ARID1A, SPOP, and KMT2D were frequently mutated across OCCC tumors.ConclusionOCCCs appear genetically heterogeneous, but harbor frequent alterations in chromatin remodeling genes. Overexpression of TFAP2A and ERBB2 was observed on the mRNA level in relation to other ovarian cancer subtypes. However, overexpression of ERBB2 was not reflected by HER2 amplification or protein overexpression in the OCCC validation cohort. In addition, Rho GTPase-dependent actin organization may also play a role in OCCC pathogenesis and warrants further investigation. The distinct biological features of OCCC discovered here may provide a basis for novel targeted treatment strategies

Clinical and histopathological characteristics in relation to aetiological risk factors in cutaneous melanoma : a population-based study

In this population-based, case-control study from Sweden using data collected from 1988 to 1990, an increased risk of melanoma was associated with the number of sunburns, propensity to freckle, the number of raised naevi and a family history of melanoma. Furthermore, a decreased risk was associated with occupational sun exposure. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether different histopathological features of the melanoma and clinical factors were related to the different aetiological risk factor patterns. All the confirmed primary cutaneous melanomas (n = 366) were included in the study. Both univariate analyses with tests for interaction and multivariate analyses were performed. Patients with melanoma on the trunk and patients with thin melanomas had an excess of close relatives with a history of melanoma (odds ratios [ORs] = 2.7 and 2.3, respectively). A relationship was also seen between melanomas in younger persons and a family history of melanoma (OR = 2.6). The presence of raised naevi on the arm had a tendency to be closer related to melanoma of the nodular type (OR = 4.3) than melanoma of the superficial spreading type (OR = 1.6). Patients with outdoor occupations during summer had a decreased risk of developing melanoma on the extremities. Melanoma diagnosed in patients born before 1939 had an association with sunburns (OR = 1.9) and freckling (OR = 2.0), while melanomas in patients born in 1939 or later were related to a family history of melanoma (OR = 2.2). These results suggest that different histopathological and clinical features of melanoma are associated with different risk factor patterns, which may imply diverging tumour genesis

Is the use of sunscreens a risk factor for malignant melanoma?

The relation between use of sunscreens, different host factors and malignant melanoma was investigated in a population-based, matched case-control study of malignant melanoma in the South Swedish Health Care Region, which has the highest risk for melanoma in Sweden, between 1 July 1988 and 30 June 1990. In total, 400 melanoma patients and 640 healthy controls aged 15-75 years answered a comprehensive questionnaire regarding different epidemiologic variables, including questions on use of sunscreens and different constitutional factors. The use of sunscreens was not found to protect against developing malignant melanoma. Instead, an unexpected relation between the use of sunscreens and the risk of developing malignant melanoma was seen (odds ratio (OR) 1.8 for almost always vs never using sunscreens). A tentative dose-response relation was found. Virtually the same ORs were seen in both sexes. Furthermore, persons younger than 50 years had a higher OR than persons older than 50 years. When different melanoma presentation sites were considered, lesions of the trunk were associated with sunscreen use in females (adjusted OR = 3.7 for almost always vs never using sunscreens), while lesions of the extremity or head and neck were associated with sunscreen use in males (adjusted OR = 3.2 for almost always vs never using sunscreens). Raised naevi on the left arm and freckling were shown to be the major constitutional risk factors (OR = 3.9 for more than three naevi vs none and OR = 1.4, respectively). The results were essentially unaltered in a histopathologically re-examined material. Further investigations are needed in order to form a basis for melanoma prevention

Cutaneous malignant melanoma in southern Sweden 1965, 1975, and 1985. Prognostic factors and histologic correlations

BACKGROUND: There is a worldwide increase in the incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) among whites. In Sweden, a five-fold increase has been recorded since 1960, although the increase in mortality rate is substantially lower. Tumor thickness is recognized as the most important histologic prognostic factor for primary melanoma. In a previous study, the authors did not find any significant decrease in mean tumor thickness over the period 1965-1985 in their region. In the current study, prognostic factors for melanoma were evaluated for this time period.METHODS: In a population-based study, 468 cases of invasive melanoma, diagnosed in the years 1965, 1975, and 1985, were histopathologically reexamined. The level of invasion, tumor thickness, regressive reaction, ulceration, presence of inflammatory cells, presence of benign nevus cells, and site of presentation were studied. In 461 of these 468 patients, it was possible to correlate the histopathologic factors with survival.RESULTS: In univariate analyses, the parameters of presence of ulceration, increasing tumor thickness, male gender, nodular type of melanoma, and older age at diagnosis were significantly related to a shortened overall survival. In various multivariate models with adjustment for age and the factors studied simultaneously, ulceration, increasing tumor thickness, and male gender were significantly associated with a poor prognosis. Correlations between the factors studied were noted. It was observed that older patients tended to have thicker tumors. Thick melanomas correlated to a deeper level of invasion (Clark's), nodular growth pattern, ulceration, less inflammation, and less regression compared with thin, less invasive melanomas. Women had significantly fewer inflammatory cells and fewer signs of regression in their tumors compared with men.CONCLUSIONS: In multivariate analyses adjusted for age, increasing tumor thickness, older age, ulceration, and male gender were significantly associated with a poor prognosis among patients with invasive CMM. None of these factors showed a significant change for the years 1965, 1975, and 1985. Thus, a change in the prognostic factors studied does not explain the increased survival of melanoma patients for this time period

One in 10 ovarian cancer patients carry germ line BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations : results of a prospective study in Southern Sweden

At least 10% of all ovarian cancers are estimated to have a hereditary background. Hereditary breast-ovarian cancer (HBOC) due to mutations in the BRCA genes is a major cause of hereditary ovarian cancer, although its frequency and relationship to age and family history in unselected series of ovarian cancers is not completely known. We report here the results of a full mutational screening analysis for germ line BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations in 161 patients with invasive epithelial ovarian carcinomas. Age at diagnosis ranged from 22 to 82 years (mean 59 years). Deleterious (frame-shift, nonsense and missense) mutations were detected in 13/161 (8%) of the patients and affected BRCA1 in 12 cases and BRCA2 in one case. Four additional missense variants (one in BRCA1 and three in BRCA2) with a possible association with an increased risk ovarian cancer were revealed, resulting in a total frequency of BRCA gene alterations of 17/161 (11%). The 13 patients with deleterious mutations had a mean age of 57 years (range 41-76 years) and only three of these patients were below 50 years of age. A family history of at least one breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer was reported in all but 1 of the patients with BRCA mutations compared with only 24% of patients without mutations. Our findings in this prospective study confirm approximately 1 in 10 patients with ovarian cancer carry a germ line BRCA gene mutation associated with HBOC, and also indicate that a large number of these patients are over 50 years of age at diagnosis