Familial malignant melanoma - overview.

ABSTRACT: Approximately 3-15% of all malignant melanomas (MM) are familial cases. MM is a highly heterogeneous tumour type from a genetic perspective. Pedigrees with disease confined to a single generation of siblings or MM occurring among second- or third-degree relatives suggest multifactorial polygenic inheritance. However, not infrequently, within large families aggregations of MM are consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance, suggesting a hereditary syndrome caused by germline alterations of a single gene. Several different genes are involved in the development of MM. However, even when taken together they are responsible for less than 20% of all MM cases. It is thus necessary to perform association studies focused on genetic markers that could be used in identifying patients with a high r

SUBMITTER: Debniak T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4392520 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature