No Increased Risk for Melanoma in Patients With Multiple Myeloma

Risk of melanoma is not increased in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who are in an immunosuppressed state, according to results of a population-based study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Investigators sought to determine the incidence of melanoma in patients with MM via use of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. Patients from a total of 13 SEER registries with a histologically confirmed diagnosis of MM between January 1, 1992 and December 31, 2010, were examined.

A total of 31,815 individuals (54% men, 46% women; median age, 69) with MM met study inclusion criteria. Overall, 193 patients were excluded from the analysis because of a melanoma diagnosis prior to (n=186) or during (n=7) the same month as their MM diagnosis. Of the remaining 31,622 participants with MM, the overall incidence of subsequent melanoma was 64.9 per 100 person-years (95% CI, 49.8-83.0).

The observed number of melanoma cases (n=63) did not differ significantly from the expected number of cases (n=49.7) in the general population with the same age and gender distribution (standardized incidence ratio [SIR] 1.27; 95% CI, 0.97-1.62; P =.07). When women and men with MM were compared, men were significantly more likely than women to subsequently develop melanoma (SIR 1.88; 95% CI, 1.12-3.23; P =.02).

The investigators concluded that future population-based studies are needed to help better understand the interaction between melanoma and MM, given that melanoma incidence is increased in patients with other immunocompromised conditions.

Reference

Chang TW, Weaver AL, Brewer JD, Kyle RA, Baum CL. Risk of melanoma in patients with multiple myeloma: a SEER population-based study [published online October 14, 2017]. J Am Acad Dermatol. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2017.10.014