Characteristics of the coexistence of melanoma and renal cell carcinoma

• Published in: Cancer Vol. 116; no. 24; pp. 5716 - 5724
• Main Authors: Maubec, Eve, Chaudru, Valérie, Mohamdi, Hamida, Grange, Florent, Patard, Jean‐Jacques, Dalle, Stéphane, Crickx, Béatrice, Paillerets, Brigitte Bressac‐de, Demenais, Florence, Avril, Marie‐Françoise
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 15.12.2010; Wiley-Blackwell
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - diagnosis; Carcinoma, Renal Cell - genetics; coexistence; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 4; Dermatology; familial melanoma; Family Health; Female; Genes, p16; genetic predisposition; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Genetics; Hair; Humans; Kidney; Kidney Neoplasms - diagnosis; Kidney Neoplasms - genetics; Male; Medical sciences; melanoma; Melanoma - diagnosis; Melanoma - genetics; Middle Aged; multiple primary neoplasms; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary - diagnosis; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary - genetics; renal cell carcinoma; Risk Factors; Skin; Skin Neoplasms - diagnosis; Skin Neoplasms - genetics; Tumors; Tumors of the skin and soft tissue. Premalignant lesions; Kidney disease; Urinary system disease; Carcinoma; melanoma; Malignant tumor; renal cell carcinoma; Cancerology; familial melanoma; Kidney cancer; Malignant melanoma; Primary; Predisposition; multiple primary neoplasms; genetic predisposition; Familial cancer; Genetics; Grawitz tumor; Cancer
• ISSN: 0008-543X; 1097-0142; 1097-0142
• DOI: 10.1002/cncr.25562

BACKGROUND: Patients with melanoma (MM) have an increased risk of kidney cancer, and there is an excess risk of MM among patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The objective of the current study was to analyze a series of 42 patients with both MM and RCC to identify clinical and pathologic features as well as risk factors of this association. METHODS: Clinical and pathologic characteristics of 42 patients who developed both MM and RCC (the MM + RCC series) were compared with 2 published series in each cancer alone: a series of 293 patients with MM (MM series) and a series of 1527 patients with RCC (RCC series). RESULTS: RCC was diagnosed concomitantly or after MM in 83% of patients in the MM + RCC series. Those patients displayed a high proportion of asymptomatic RCC at diagnosis (70%) and a higher frequency of stage I tumors (61%) than patients in the RCC series. Compared with the MM series, patients in the MM + RCC series more often were men, had a higher frequency of blond/red hair, had poor tanning ability, and had a higher number of nevi. In addition, patients in the MM + RCC series had a high aggregation of other malignancies (mainly skin cancers) and a significantly higher frequency of family history of MM (P = .005). Only 2 cyclin‐dependent kinase 2A gene (CDKN2A) germline mutations were identified among patients in the MM + RCC series who also were members of MM‐prone families. CONCLUSIONS: The high aggregation of cancers among patients in the MM + RCC series and the familial clustering of MM argued for a genetic predisposition that may be partly independent of CDKN2A. Cancer 2010. © 2010 American Cancer Society. Clinical, pathologic, and phenotypic characteristics of 42 patients who had coexisting melanoma and renal cell carcinoma were compared with the characteristics of patients from 2 published French series that were ascertained systematically, including a series of 293 patients with melanoma and a series of 1527 patients with renal cell carcinoma. In addition to a high frequency of phenotypic risk factors for melanoma (pigmentation and nevus phenotypes), the most prominent features of the association between melanoma and renal cell carcinoma observed in this study were a high aggregation of cancers (mainly skin cancers) in the same patient and an excess of familial clustering of melanoma, which strongly argued for an inherited genetic predisposition.