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Increased risk of second primary cancers after melanoma diagnosis

A US retrospective case registry survey between 1973 and 2004 quantified the risk of subsequent primary cancers in 79,910 patients diagnosed initially with cutaneous malignant melanomas (CMMs). Of this group, 11.4% developed one or more subsequent primary tumors. These comprised 9.9% with a total of two primary cancers, 1.3% with a total of 3 and 0.2% with ≥ 4 tumors. The overall risk of developing a subsequent primary cancer was increased by 28%. This excess was due primarily to subsequent primary CMMs, and 24% of subsequent cases were primary CMMs. Patients who were at higher risk were female, under 30 years of age, and had head and neck melanomas. Patients initially ...