Moles heighten skin cancer risks.In 1976, Wallace H. Clark Jr. saw a patient who had a history of malignant melanoma Malignant Melanoma Definition Malignant melanoma is a type of cancer arising from the melanocyte cells of the skin. Melanocytes are cells in the skin that produce a pigment called melanin. , a deadly form of skin cancer. The patient had a "startlingly star·tle v. star·tled, star·tling, star·tles v.tr. 1. To cause to make a quick involuntary movement or start. 2. To alarm, frighten, or surprise suddenly. See Synonyms at frighten. high number of moles Moles Definition A mole (nevus) is a pigmented (colored) spot on the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). Description Moles can be round, oval, flat, or raised. They can occur singly or in clusters on any part of the body. " that looked unusual to Clark. The patient's mother was also present, and Clark decided to examine the mother's skin for evidence of abnormal moles. His hunch hunch n. 1. An intuitive feeling or a premonition: had a hunch that he would lose. 2. A hump. 3. A lump or chunk: "She . . . paid off: He found an undiagnosed malignant melanoma on the mother's arm. That experience sparked Clark's interest in studying the relationship between moles and melanoma. Clark, now at Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University. It is a prestigious American medical school located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. in Boston, and his colleagues have just published a report that has practical implications for people worried about skin cancer. The team studied 738 melanoma patients and more than 1,000 controls--people who had gone to a hospital clinic for reasons other than skin cancer. The researchers' findings suggest that people with 50 or more small, yet normal-looking moles have twice the melanoma risk of people with 25 or fewer such moles. Abnormal-looking moles heightened the danger of melanoma, the researchers report in the May 14 Journal of the American Medical Association JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association is an international peer-reviewed general medical journal, published 48 times per year by the American Medical Association. JAMA is the most widely circulated medical journal in the world. . People with one abnormal mole had twice the melanoma risk of people with no abnormal moles; people with 10 or more normal moles increased their risk of this cancer 12-fold, the team reports. If malignant melanomas are caught early enough, patients have an almost 100 percent cure rate. "There is a compelling reason to identify people at high risk," Clark told Science News. People should ask their doctor about conducting a whole-body examination of the skin, Clark says. Those with many moles or unusual moles may need regular skin examinations, he adds. |
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