According to a recent study, genetics may have a bigger impact on the risk of developing melanoma than previously thought. Researchers found that as many as 15% of patients diagnosed with melanoma at Cleveland Clinic from 2017 to 2020 had mutations in genes that make them more susceptible to cancer.
Physicians don’t often request genetic screenings for patients with a family history of melanoma because studies have shown that only 2-2.5% of all cases are genetic. Due to this, insurance companies rarely cover these tests unless in extreme situations. In the medical field, genetic testing is generally not offered for cancers with a risk threshold of less than 5%.
However, a study led by researchers and clinicians from Cleveland Clinic and Stanford Medicine suggests that melanoma exceeds that risk threshold.
The findings, which were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, revealed that as many as 15% of patients diagnosed with melanoma by Cleveland Clinic doctors from 2017 to 2020 had mutations in genes that make them more susceptible to cancer. The research team, led by Ying Ni, PhD, and Claudia Marcela Diaz, PhD from the Cleveland Clinic Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology, examined patient databases from around the world and observed similar patterns.
According to Dr. Diaz, “Hereditary cancers can have a significant impact on families and cause immense suffering. Genetic testing allows us to identify, screen, and potentially treat these cancers proactively.”According to Dr. Arbesman, it is important to provide tools and resources to families in order to ensure they have access to the best possible healthcare. He suggests that physicians and insurance companies should broaden their criteria for offering genetic testing to individuals with family histories of melanoma, as inherited predisposition to the condition is more common than previously thought. Dr. Arbesman, who leads a lab at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute’s Cancer Biology, believes that there are other factors besides sun exposure that can impact an individual’s likelihood of developing melanoma.Dr. Arbesman said, “Not all of my patients had inherited mutations that made them more susceptible to the sun. There’s clearly something more going on here and more research is needed.” He and his team are researching the genes from his patients’ genetic tests to gain a better understanding of how melanoma develops and how it can be treated. For instance, they are exploring whether some patients with inherited mutations and their families may benefit more from immunotherapy compared to those without inherited mutations. Additionally, the lab is investigating how other patients’ genes played a role in the development of melanoma.The article discusses the link between genetic susceptibility and melanoma severity. The research was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology in 2024. The study focused on germline cancer susceptibility in individuals with melanoma. The findings emphasize the importance of understanding genetic factors in the development and severity of melanoma.
