A person’s risk factor status for melanoma could be used to tailor surveillance programs and education about skin self-examination, a recent study found. Researchers conducted a population-based observational study of physicians’ reported treatment of 2,727 patients diagnosed with an in situ or invasive primary melanoma over a 12-month period; analysis of these data took place from 2015 to 2016. They found:

• Of total patients with melanoma, 1,052 (39%) were defined as higher risk owing to a family history of melanoma, multiple primary melanomas, or many nevi.
• Compared with patients with melanoma who were at lower risk, the higher-risk group had a younger mean age at diagnosis (62 vs 65 years), but this differed by risk factor.
• Among higher-risk patients, those with many nevi were more likely to have melanoma on the trunk, those with a family history of melanoma were more likely to have melanomas on the limbs, and those with a personal history were more likely to have melanoma on the head and neck.