Parkinson's sufferers prone to higher risk of melanoma

A study has shown that people with Parkinson’s disease run a significantly higher risk of melanoma, which can be termed as the most dangerous type of skin cancer and the leading cause of death from skin diseases.

“Past studies linking Parkinson's disease and melanoma have not been conclusive, so we wanted to explore a larger group of studies to see whether the link was consistent,” said study author Honglei Chen, MD, PhD, with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a division of the National Institutes of Health in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and a member of the American Academy of Neurology.

The researchers analysed 12 studies conducted from 1965 and 2010 that looked at the possible relation between Parkinson’s disease and melanoma and found that most of the studies had fewer than 10 cases with both conditions.

They found that men with Parkinson’s disease run the risk two times than those without Parkinson’s to have melanoma. Women with Parkinson's disease were one-and-a-half times as likely to be diagnosed with the melanoma compared to women without Parkinson's.

"Parkinson’s disease patients in general have a lower risk for cancer, smoking-related cancers in particular, but they may have a higher risk for melanoma. One possible explanation for the link between Parkinson's and melanoma is that the two diseases may share some genetic or environmental risk factors," Chen added. 

The research was published in the June 7, 2011, print issue of Neurology.