Thirteen common susceptibility loci have been reproducibly associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM). We report the results of an international two-stage meta-analysis of 11 genome-wide association studies (GWAS, five unpublished) of CMM and Stage two datasets, totaling 15,990 cases and 26,409 controls. Five loci not previously associated with CMM risk reached genome-wide significance (P < 5×10−8) as did two previously-reported but un-replicated loci and all thirteen established loci. Novel SNPs fall within putative melanocyte regulatory elements, and bioinformatic and eQTL data highlight candidate genes including one involved in telomere biology.

Most genetic susceptibility to cutaneous melanoma remains to be discovered. Meta-analysis genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 36,760 melanoma cases (67% newly-genotyped) and 375,188 controls identified 54 significant loci with 68 independent SNPs. Analysis of risk estimates across geographical regions and host factors suggests the acral melanoma subtype is uniquely unrelated to pigmentation. Combining this meta-analysis with nevus count and hair color GWAS, and transcriptome association approaches, uncovered 31 potential secondary loci, for a total of 85 cutaneous melanoma susceptibility loci. These findings provide substantial insights into cutaneous melanoma genetic architecture, reinforcing the importance of nevogenesis, pigmentation, and telomere maintenance together with identifying potential new pathways for cutaneous melanoma pathogenesis.

We report a genome-wide association study of melanoma, conducted by GenoMEL, of 2,981 cases, of European ancestry, and 1,982 study-specific controls, plus a further 6,426 French and UK population controls, all genotyped for 317,000 or 610,000 SNPs. The analysis confirmed previously known melanoma susceptibility loci. The 7 novel regions with at least one SNP with p<10−5 and further local imputed or genotyped support were selected for replication using two other genome-wide studies (from Australia and Houston, Texas). Additional replication came from UK and Dutch case-control series. Three of the 7 regions replicated at p<10−3: an ATM missense polymorphism (rs1801516, overall p=3.4×10−9); a polymorphism within MX2 (rs45430, p=2.9×10−9) and a SNP adjacent to CASP8 (rs13016963, p=8.6×10−10). A fourth region near CCND1 remains of potential interest, showing suggestive but inconclusive evidence of replication. Unlike the previously known regions, the novel loci showed no association with nevus or pigmentation phenotypes in a large UK case-control series.

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