BACKGROUND: Approximately 10% of melanoma cases are attributable to cell line mutations in predisposition genes, and are therefore hereditary. OBJECTIVES: The present study evaluates the prevalence of hereditary melanoma risk factors in a group of patients diagnosed with the disorder in Southern Brazil. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One-hundred and ninety-five patients diagnosed with melanoma who were consecutively admitted to the Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre between January 1999 and June 2000 were studied. RESULTS: The mean age at diagnosis of melanoma was 48 years in men and 45 years in women. From the 133 patients who had their family history registered in the hospital records, 13 (9.8%) had a family history of melanoma. The presence of at least one important risk factor for hereditary melanoma was observed in 31 patients (16%; CI 95%; 10.9-21.1%). CONCLUSIONS: The possibility of a genetic influence in melanoma cases of this region should stimulate the active search for specific hereditary melanoma risk factors, since the identification of at-risk patients may have an impact on disease morbidity and mortality.
genes; tumor suppressor; melanoma; neoplastic syndromes, hereditary
