Acquired Dysplastic Melanocytic Nevi and Cutaneous Melanoma: Precursors and Prevention

Excerpt

Cutaneous melanoma is a potentially lethal tumor of melanocytes. It has been estimated that in 1984, 18 000 persons in the United States developed melanoma and 5500 of them died from metastatic disease (1). Persons who are white, have a personal or family history of cutaneous melanoma, sunburn easily and tan poorly, have had excessive sun exposure in the first decade of life, and have increased numbers of large and irregularly pigmented moles are at greatly increased risk of developing cutaneous melanoma (2-5). The study by Greene and colleagues (6) focuses on the relation between familial cutaneous melanoma and the