Melanoma risk is up to 2.5 times higher in people who have received a transplant or who have lymphoma
Because transplant recipients and lymphoma patients have immune systems that tend to be significantly depressed, they are more likely than the average person to get melanoma and to die of it, a Mayo Clinic review has found. This makes early detection of melanoma even more important, says coauthor Jerry Brewer, MD, a Mayo dermatologist. The study findings are published in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
According to Brewer, melanoma strikes roughly 1 in 50 people in the general population. However, the odds of getting melanoma are up to 2.5 times higher in people who have received a transplant or who have lymphoma. Melanoma is also more often fatal in those patients, Brewer adds. Moreover, patients who have chronic lymphocytic leukemia and develop melanoma are 2.8 times more likely to die of metastatic melanoma.
For these patients, melanoma must be found earlier to have a better chance of survival. Brewer says, “These patients with immunosuppression should be looking themselves over head-to-toe once a month, they should be seeing a dermatologist once or twice a year, and if they have a lot of other risk factors, maybe more often than that.”
Brewer also advises using sunscreen, trying to avoid the sun, and staying away from tanning beds.
Source: Mayo Clinic.