Parkinson’s Disease as a Risk Factor for Melanoma: A Review

Abstract

Objective: To review the literature and place into a quantified context the relationship of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis to a subsequent diagnosis of malignant melanoma, and to briefly explore potential molecular associations between the two diseases.
 Methods: The Medline database was queried with terms related to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and malignant melanoma, with use of Boolean operator AND to identify studies involving both diseases. Studies were divided into primary and meta-analyses, with exclusive evaluation of those quantifying risk of malignant melanoma after an established diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Critical studies were identified using Medline searches to identify established quantified risk metrics between classic melanoma risk factors and subsequent development of malignant melanoma.
 Results: Twelve primary studies and three meta-analyses were evaluated and their risk metrices tabulated. Three studies offered estimated risk of development of malignant melanoma in patients with classic melanoma risk factors. These metrices were also tabulated and compared with the metrices established by the twelve primary studies. This demonstrated a similarity in overall risk of developing malignant melanoma in a patient with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease as compared to a patient with classical melanoma risk factors.
 Limitations: Relatively few studies identified specifically quantified the classic risk factors for melanoma, and relatively few studies specifically quantified the degree of risk for developing melanoma after an established Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
 Conclusion: It is wise to consider the presence of Parkinson’s disease in a patient as one factor when clinicians decide on the appropriateness of regular full body screening examinations.