title: The familial occurrence of cutaneous melanoma, intraocular melanoma, and the dysplastic nevus syndrome.
abstract: The occurrence of cutaneous melanoma and intraocular melanoma as double primary cancers in the same patient and in different members of the same family has suggested that these two forms of melanoma are etiologically related. It is theoretically possible that the link between these two pigment cell malignancies may be the dysplastic nevus syndrome, and patients with the dysplastic nevus syndrome may have an increased risk of intraocular melanoma and cutaneous melanoma. We studied two new kindreds in which cutaneous melanoma, intraocular melanoma, and the dysplastic nevus syndrome occurred and conducted neuro-ophthalmologic examinations of 26 patients with hereditary cutaneous melanoma or the dysplastic nevus syndrome, or both. In the one family studied in detail, the cutaneous melanoma predisposition came from the paternal bloodline, whereas the intraocular melanoma occurred in the maternal bloodline. The ophthalmologic examinations disclosed neither intraocular melanoma nor suspicious or atypical choroidal nevi. Our limited data suggested that the association of intraocular melanoma with cutaneous melanoma and dysplastic nevus syndrome may be coincidental.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005134:Eye Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D010375:Pedigree; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D013577:Syndrome