Personal history of prostate cancer linked to melanoma risk

(HealthDay)—History of prostate cancer (PCa) is associated with an increased risk of melanoma, according to a study published online Nov. 4 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Wen-Qing Li, Ph.D., from the National Institutes of Health in Rockville, Md., and colleagues conducted a prospective study to examine the correlation between PCa and the risk of melanoma using data from 42,372 participants in the Health Professionals' Follow-Up Study (HPFS). Pathology reports were used to confirm biennially self-reported PCa and melanoma. The association was confirmed in 18,603 participants from the Physicians' Health Study (PHS).

The researchers identified 529 melanomas in the HPFS. The risk of melanoma was significantly increased with personal history of PCa (multivariate adjusted hazard ratio, 1.83; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.32 to 2.54), while the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer was marginally increased with PCa (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.995 to 1.16). There was a significant difference in the magnitude of the association between melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. The risk of melanoma was not associated with personal history of other cancers. In the PHS, the association between PCa and risk of incident melanoma was confirmed (hazard ratio, 2.17).

"Our finding of PCa diagnosis as a risk predictor for melanoma holds general public health significance, which may inform clinical practice to address the queries and aid the care of patients with PCa," the authors write.

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