Mar 24, 2009 4:09 pm US/Eastern
HealthWatch: Melanoma
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Melanoma is the least common but most deadly form of skin cancer. It can affect people of all ages, but for unknown reasons is particularly common in women under 40. But as new research now shows, for those women, the risk of developing the disease may all be in the genes.
For Michelle Lynch, melanoma hit very close to home, but it was about to get closer.
"My father passed away from melanoma. It was a really short battle, he found it too late to be saved," Lynch said. "This past summer I actually was diagnosed with melanoma myself. I found something on my back that was out of the ordinary."
Michelle was lucky. Her cancer was caught early and cured.
Because of her family history she understood her risk.
Now a new genetic test may help others understand theirs.
"It may help us to check them at a younger age, and check them more frequently, and be more aggressive in removing moles to make sure that they're not melanomas," dermatologist Dr. Doris Day said.
Researchers at New York University have just identified a genetic variation that causes a nearly four fold increase of melanoma in women under the age of 50.
The gene may be linked to the activity of the hormone estrogen, which would explain why pre-menopausal women are at a such a high risk.
"I absolutely would've been interested in getting the test done," Lynch said.
Nearly one American dies of melanoma every hour, but when it's caught early, it's 95 percent curable. Adults should have their skin checked every year by a dermatologist, and if you're high risk you should be checked more often.
Dr. Day sees melanoma cases often. She says screening is straightforward. "Your skin is on the outside. We can see moles that are changing and spots that need to be biopsied and removed for early diagnosis and cure. So it's really very sad that this happens today."
For Lynch, her father's battle with the deadly disease wasn't in vein.
"He saved my life, by, you know, by him passing away, I had that knowledge," Lynch said.
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