A melanoma risk score in a Brazilian population

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Important risk factors for cutaneous melanoma (CM) are recognized, but standardized scores for individual assessment must still be developed. OBJECTIVES:The objective of this study was to develop a risk score of CM for a Brazilian sample. METHODS:To verify the estimates of the main risk factors for melanoma, derived from a meta-analysis (Italian-based study), and externally validate them in a population in southern Brazil by means of a case-control study. A total of 117 individuals were evaluated. Different models were constructed combining the summary coefficients of different risk factors, derived from the meta-analysis, multiplied by the corresponding category of each variable for each participant according to a mathematical expression. RESULTS:the variable that best predicted the risk of CM in the studied population was hair color (AUC: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.62-0.79). Other important factors were freckles, sunburn episodes, and skin and eye color. Consideration of other variables such as common nevi, elastosis, family history, and premalignant lesions did not improve the predictive ability of the models. CONCLUSION:The discriminating capacity of the proposed model proved to be superior or comparable to that of previous risk models proposed for CM.

Melanoma risk prediction models

“…Based on the learned classification scheme, they are successfully utilized for melanoma risk prediction. These results were better than results seen in some risk models in the literature: AUC = 0.79 in Fortes et al 23 , 0.77 in training set model of Williams et al 24 , 0.62 in Cho et al 8 , but lower than AUC in Bakos et al 27 five-variable model that achieved AUC of 0.85. Using data mining techniques in cancer prediction has proven to be a helpful tool in identifying persons at risk in many diseases such as lung cancer 42 , glioblastoma multiforme 43 , hepatocellular carcinoma in chronic hepatitis C 44 , stroke 45 , Alzheimer's disease 46 and others.…”

“…For these reasons, analysis of risk factor in smaller scale regions yields more accurate predictive models encompassing both demographic and regional characteristics. Such smaller scale studies give an insight into the differences, allowing for the identification of risk factors that are most important for specific population as in a study of Fargnoli et al 25 on Italian population, Ballester et al 26 on Spanish population, Bakos et al 27 on Brazilian population, Fears et al 28 , Williams et al 24 and Cho et al 8 on North American population, Mar et al 22 on Australian population and others. Application of the prognostic models enables efficient and rapid screening and, therefore, focuses further diagnostic measures on a small group of high-risk individuals.…”

Skin protection behaviour and sex differences in melanoma location in patients with multiple primary melanomas

“…[3][4][5][6][7] Other factors such as fair skin or eye colour, increased freckling and number of sunburns are also important risk factors for the development of skin cancer. 8,9 The regular use of sunscreen can reduce the rate of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma development. 10,11 However, previous studies of patients with a history of SPM have shown that they have rates of sunscreen usage, sun-protection measures and self-examination similar to the general population.…”

Desenvolvimento de nanocarreadores multifuncionais para co-localização cutânea de agentes quimioterápicos.

“…O tumor cutâneo é um problema de saúde pública que afeta milhares de pessoas mundialmente, sendo considerada a neoplasia mais comum (Bakos et al, 2013). São classificados como Melanoma e Não Melanoma, sendo a forma não melonoma mais frequente (Bakos et al, 2013).…”

“…O tumor cutâneo é um problema de saúde pública que afeta milhares de pessoas mundialmente, sendo considerada a neoplasia mais comum (Bakos et al, 2013). São classificados como Melanoma e Não Melanoma, sendo a forma não melonoma mais frequente (Bakos et al, 2013). Como opção de tratamento de tumores de pele, atualmente dispõe-se de procedimentos cirúrgicos e não-cirúrgicos, e a escolha do tratamento depende do tipo e estágio das lesões (Galiczynski et al, 2011;Wainstein et al, 2004).…”