Skin Cancer News:

Melanin Density at Upper Inner Arm Strong Predictor of Skin Cancer Risk in Caucasian Men

Melanin density at the upper inner arm is a strong predictor of the risk of skin cancer in Caucasian people, especially in men, according to researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York.

White men with low melanin density are several times more likely to develop skin cancer than those with more melanin in their skin. Low melanin density was linked with only twice the risk of some skin cancers in women, the researchers reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Using a new technology called spectrophotometry, researchers are now able to estimate melanin density at the upper inner arm using the skin reflection of light. The device emits light and measures the quantity of light reflected back. Because melanin absorbs light, the less light that is reflected back, the more melanin is present in the skin.

Men with the lowest levels of melanin were six times as likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, as men with the highest melanin densities, the researchers reported.

Source: Medical Week staff, week of April 28, 2002