痣少的个体同样更易于患黑色素瘤

  黑色素瘤是一种致死性的皮肤癌，我们都知道，身上痣多的个体患黑色素瘤的风险较高，但近日，一项来自国外的最新研究结果显示，身上痣较少的个体也易于患恶性的皮肤癌。
  这项研究中研究者分析了281名黑色素瘤患者的病案，其中89名个体甚少有超过50个痣，而192名患者身上痣的个数则少于50个；身上痣少的患者往往存在较厚、较为恶性的黑色素瘤，而且相比痣多的个体，这些痣少的个体往往会在疾病晚期阶段被诊断出来。
  医生们常常会告诉患者，身上痣多和黑色素瘤发病风险较高直接相关，实际上这些痣多的个体也会更倾向于进行常规的皮肤测试，这就意味着黑色素瘤或许可以在早期被诊断出来，这也方便患者及早进行治疗。研究者Kim说道，我们已经知道黑色素瘤在遗传上并不都是一样的，在两组患者中很有可能会存在不同的通路来驱动黑色素瘤发生，从而导致疾病恶性程度不一；如果痣少的个体更易于患恶性黑色素瘤，那么就需要确定这些个体是否会被及时告知或者进行筛查。
  最后研究者说道，当然后期我们还需要进行大规模的研究来证实本文的研究发现，相信通过后期大量的研究我们将可以阐明这一现象，并且会揭示引发痣少个体患黑色素瘤风险增加的机制。（转化医学网360zhyx.com）
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People with few moles apt to develop deadlier skin cancer, study finds
People who have many moles are at increased risk for melanoma skin cancer, but people with fewer moles may be more likely to develop a more aggressive form of the disease, a new study suggests. 

Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer.

For the study, researchers analyzed medical records of 281 melanoma patients: 89 had more than 50 moles and 192 had fewer than 50 moles.

Patients with fewer moles had thicker, more aggressive melanoma and were more likely to be diagnosed at a later age than those with more moles, according to the study scheduled for presentation Thursday at an American Academy of Dermatology meeting in New York City.

Doctors may be more likely to educate patients with a large number of moles about their increased risk of developing melanoma, said study author Dr. Caroline Kim. Kim is director of the pigmented lesion clinic at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. 

As a result, people with many moles may be more likely to get regular skin exams, which means their melanoma would be detected at an earlier stage, when it is thinner and less aggressive, she explained.

Biology may also be a factor.

"We already know that melanomas are not all the same genetically," Kim said in an academy news release.

"It's possible that there are different pathways that drive melanoma in these two patient groups, resulting in different degrees of aggressiveness. If patients with fewer moles are more prone to aggressive melanoma, then we need to make sure that they are also being educated and screened, in addition to patients with many moles," she suggested......