Genetic epidemiology of melanoma.

The field of melanoma genetics is moving at great pace with new platforms to investigate single nucleotide polymorphism, genome sequencing, gene expression, and methylation. Melanoma incidence is still rising mainly because of screening campaigns, which has increased the number of reported melanomas. However, mortality due to melanoma is not decreasing. Many cutaneous phenotypic risk factors have been linked to melanoma, but the association with UV radiation is very complex. The level of vitamin D affects both the risk of melanoma and prognosis, but more studies are needed. The genetics of melanoma involves genes involved in pigmentation and naevi, as well as genes involved in the cell cycle and senescence, which have been identified via genome-wide association studies over the last 10 years. One area of research highly relevant to melanoma is telomere biology with further links to reduced senescence. At the somatic level, new gene pathways are being explored with many new therapeutic targets, and boosting immune responses against the tumour appears to offer the best long-term outcome.