Effect of a Detailed Family History of Melanoma on Risks of Other Tumors: A Cohort Study Based on the Nationwide Swedish Family-Cancer Database.

Chen T, Fallah M, Kharazmi E, Ji J, Sundquist K, Hemminki K.

Source

Division of Molecular Genetic Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg, Germany.

Abstract

Using the Swedish Family-Cancer Database, we assessed the effect of a detailed family history of melanoma on risks of other tumors (other than melanoma). Among 248,011 individuals with family history of melanoma, 43,931 other tumors were diagnosed from 1958 to 2010. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) were calculated for other tumors in patients who had a family history of melanoma, compared to those whithout. A detailed family history of melanoma was investigated according to increasing number of melanomas in one or 2 first-degree relatives (FDRs). Associations were considered significant when there were at least two independently significant SIRs or a statistically significant trend of increasing SIRs with increasing number of melanomas in relatives. The applied criteria for significant associations were convincingly met by pancreatic, breast, prostate and squamous cell skin tumors and ependymoma, while there was significant but not overwhelming evidence for thyroid, parathyroid, lung and unknown primary tumors, meningioma, mycosis fungoides and myeloid leukemia. No studies previously considered a detailed family history of melanoma and using internal validation to assess familial associations of melanoma with other tumors. We established associations for twelve other tumors and the associations for myeloid leukemia, parathyroid and unknown primary tumors are previously unreported.Journal of Investigative Dermatology accepted article preview online, 5 November 2013; doi:10.1038/jid.2013.460.