Risk Factors and Prevention

Risk factors and prevention

Melanoma care with 华体会 Dermatology

About 1 in 40 Caucasians will experience melanoma, and 10% of them will have melanoma more than once.1 Protecting your skin from UV rays can significantly reduce your risk of skin cancer and melanoma.

In addition, one-to-two people per million are diagnosed with melanoma in the palm of their hand, and sole of their feet and/or nail unit each year.2 Melanoma on the palms, soles and nail units occurs with a similar incidence in different skin types.

Melanoma risk factors include having:3-6

  • A lighter complexion
  • A tendency to burn instead of tan
  • A history of tanning bed use:
    • 32% increased risk for women with more than 30 tanning bed sessions
    • 16% to 20% increased risk with any tanning bed use
  • Increased sun exposure and extensive sunburns
  • Immunocompromised status
  • A family history of melanoma

Prevention Tips

These tips can help prevent melanoma:

  • Avoid the sun, especially during the middle of the day. This is when harmful UV rays are strongest.
  • Wear enough sunscreen and sun-protective, ultraviolet-protective factor (UPF) clothing.
  • Use broad-spectrum sunscreen with UVA and UVB protection. Reapply it every 2 hours or after swimming.
  • Do not use tanning beds.
  • See your dermatologist (skin care physician) regularly. Early detection is key to curing melanoma.

These are some of our highly recommended sunscreens:

  • Elta MD Daily SPF 40
  • Elta MD UV Clear SPF 46
  • Elta MD UV Physical Tinted SPF 41
  • Elta MD UV Shield SPF 45
  • La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF 60 Ultra Light Fluid
  • La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF 60 Melt-In Milk
  • Juice Beauty Tinted Mineral Moisturizer SPF 30
  • Mineral Fusion Facial Moisturizer SPF 40
  • Supergoop! Daily Correct CC Cream SPF 35+

Our team provides the following prevention related services:

  • Expert dermoscopic assessment of pigmented lesions
  • Short-term dermoscopic monitoring
  • Digital automated total body mole mapping
  • Tape-stripping of moles when appropriate
  • Biopsy and surgical excision of atypical pigmented lesions
  • Imiquimod (Aldara) and other topic chemotherapies for skin cancers that are difficult to excise
  • Genetic counseling and genetic testing for possible hereditary melanoma
  • Close collaboration with our surgeons who perform Mohs surgery for lentigo maligna melanomas
  • Close collaboration with our surgical oncologists for advanced cases
  • Genomic testing and interpretation of borderline melanocytic tumors, such as atypical spitz tumors, pigmented epithelioid melanocytomas or other non-conventional subtypes of melanocytic tumors

References

  1. Key Statistics for Melanoma Skin Cancer. American Cancer Society. Accessed September 15th, 2021.
  2. Bradford PT, Goldstein AM, McMaster ML, Tucker MA. Acral lentiginous melanoma: incidence and survival patterns in the United States, 1986-2005. Archives of dermatology. 2009;145(4):427-434.
  3. Can Melanoma Skin Cancer Be Prevented. American Cancer Society. Accessed September 10th, 2021.
  4. Colantonio S, Bracken MB, Beecker J. The association of indoor tanning and melanoma in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American academy of dermatology. 2014;70(5):847-857. e18.
  5. Boniol M, Autier P, Boyle P, Gandini S. Cutaneous melanoma attributable to sunbed use: systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj. 2012;345
  6. Ghiasvand R, Rueegg CS, Weiderpass E, Green AC, Lund E, Veierød MB. Indoor tanning and melanoma risk: long-term evidence from a prospective population-based cohort study. American journal of epidemiology. 2017;185(3):147-156.