Nevus count associations with pigmentary phenotype, histopathological melanoma characteristics and survival from melanoma.
Although nevus count is an established risk factor for melanoma, relationships between nevus number and patient and tumor characteristics have not been well studied and the influence of nevus count on melanoma-specific survival is equivocal. Using data from the Genes, Environment and Melanoma (GEM) study, a large population-based study of primary cutaneous melanoma, we evaluated associations between number of nevi and patient features, including sun-sensitivity summarized in a phenotypic index, and tumor characteristics. We also assessed the association of nevus count with melanoma-specific survival. Higher nevus counts were independently and positively associated with male gender and younger age at diagnosis, and they were inversely associated with lentigo maligna histology. We observed a borderline significant trend of poorer melanoma-specific survival with increasing quartile of nevus count, but little or no association between number of nevi and pigmentary phenotypic characteristics or prognostic tumor features.
Department of Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL.
Nicholas J
NJ
Taylor
Department of Dermatology, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
Nancy E
NE
Thomas
Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Irvine, CA.
Hoda
H
Anton-Culver
School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Bruce K
BK
Armstrong
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
Colin B
CB
Begg
Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
Klaus J
KJ
Busam
School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Anne E
AE
Cust
George Institute for Global Health Research, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Terence
T
Dwyer
Women's College Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Lynn
L
From
British Columbia Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Richard P
RP
Gallagher
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA.
Stephen B
SB
Gruber
Cancercare Ontario, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Diane E
DE
Nishri
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.
Irene
I
Orlow
Piedmont Tumor Registry, Turin, Italy.
Stefano
S
Rosso
Menzies Centre for Population Health, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Alison J
AJ
Venn
Piedmont Tumor Registry, Turin, Italy.
Roberto
R
Zanetti
Departments of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM.
Marianne
M
Berwick
Department of Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL.
Peter A
PA
Kanetsky
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000473:pathology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010641:Phenotype; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
disease-specific survival; melanoma; nevi; phenotypic characteristics