A recent study has revealed that people who have fewer moles are more prone to develop aggressive melanoma than those with numerous moles. The study envisaged the review of charts of 281 skin cancer melanoma patients. These patients visited a Boston hospital in between 2013 and 2014. Of the patients, 89 had 50 or moles while the rest 192 had less than 50 moles.
The study revealed that patients who had less than 50 moles are more prone to have aggressive forms of melanoma as compared to the group who had 50 or more moles.
Study author Dr. Caroline C. Kim is a dermatologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He is also associated with the Harvard Medical School in Boston. Kim in a statement said that most forms of skin cancer including melanoma are treatable if detected early. It is, important that people are better aware about melanoma and skin cancer.
The reason for the development of an aggressive form of melanoma in persons who have fewer moles is not clear. It could be possible that a person who has more than 50 moles are identified easily as having increased the risk of skin cancer by the doctor and hence better educated about the risk. Such patients are likely to visit a dermatologist, and there is a better chance of detecting melanoma when it is in a less aggressive stage.
Kim further added that there could be genetic differences in persons with a varying number of moles. The difference could be in varying genetic mutation implying that different melanomas could have different degrees of aggressive potential.
It is also possible that variance in people’s immune systems could affect both the number of moles people have and the type of melanoma they develop.
The study also revealed that melanomas that were formed in non-mole areas of the skin where there was no dark spot are highly aggressive and deadly than cancer that form in moles.