Study Suggests People With Fewer Moles Have Greater Risk of Developing More Aggressive Melanoma

Everyone should be aware in developing a skin cancer particularly melanoma. However, those with few moles in their body should be more cautious from the said skin cancer.

Recent study presented by Dr. Caroline C. Kim, of the Harvard Medical School during the American Academy of Dermatology's 2015 Summer Academy Meeting in New York, NY, revealed that people with less than 50 moles in their body are observed to develop thicker and more aggressive melanomas.

Skin Cancer foundation described melanoma as "the most dangerous form of skin cancer." It furthered that melanoma is caused primarily by intense, occasional Ultraviolet exposure that often leads to sunburn especially in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease.

According to Medical News Today (MNT), Dr. Kim and co-researchers analyzed 281 cases of melanoma patients of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Department of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School where they found that among the patients, 89 had more than 50 moles while the other patients had less.

Moreover, further reviewing the cases, the researchers observed that those who had fewer moles have developed a stronger type of melanoma while those who have higher number of moles have thinner and less aggressive melanoma.

In addition, Dr. Kim and team noted that there is a higher chance for melanoma to be detected at an earlier stage among those who have 50 or more moles compared to people with fewer moles. This fact, according to them, can be the reason why those who have higher number of moles have only developed thinner melanoma as they are typically readily identified to being at risk on the said skin cancer and, thus, are more prepared and educated when it comes to being cautious regarding their skin condition.

"It's important to educate yourself about skin cancer, no matter how many moles you have. All skin cancers, including melanoma, are most treatable when they're detected early, so it's important to be aware of warning signs on your skin," Dr. Kim told MNT.

However, as reported by MNT, Dr. Kim emphasized that there is a need for a study in a larger scale to support the results of their observational study. She also added that the types of melanoma among the subjected patient groups should be investigated to arrive on more accurate findings.

The American Cancer Society, on the other hand, estimates that there are more than 135,000 new cases of melanoma in the U.S. that are diagnosed in a year and predicts that about "73,870 of these will be invasive melanomas, with about 42,670 in males and 31,200 in women."