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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Melanoma occurs when something goes awry in the melanin-producing cells (melanocytes) that give color to your skin. Normally, skin cells develop in a controlled and orderly way — healthy new cells push older cells toward your skin's surface, where they die and eventually fall off. But when some cells develop DNA damage, new cells may begin to grow out of control and can eventually form a mass of cancerous cells.
Just what damages DNA in skin cells and how this leads to melanoma isn't clear. It's likely that a combination of factors, including environmental and genetic factors, causes melanoma. Still, doctors believe exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun and from tanning lamps and beds is the leading cause of melanoma.
UV light doesn't cause all melanomas, especially those that occur in places on your body that don't receive exposure to sunlight. This indicates that other factors may contribute to your risk of melanoma.
- What you need to know about melanoma and other skin cancers. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/wyntk/skin. Accessed May 10, 2012.
- Abeloff MD, et al. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-4/0/1709/0.html. Accessed May 10, 2012.
- Habif TP. Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 5th ed. Edinburgh, U.K.; New York, N.Y.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7234-3541-9..X0001-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-7234-3541-9&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed May 7, 2012.
- Sureda N, et al. Conservative surgical management of subungual (matrix derived) melanoma: Report of seven cases and literature review. British Journal of Dermatology. 2011;165:852.
- Seetharamu N, et al. Mucosal melanomas: A case-based review of the literature. The Oncologist. 2010;15:772.
- Intraocular (eye) melanoma treatment (PDQ). National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/intraocularmelanoma/patient/. Accessed May 15, 2012.
- Smith RA, et al. Cancer screening in the United States, 2012: A review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and current issues in cancer screening. CA A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. 2012;62:129.
- Skin examinations. SkinCancerNet. http://www.skincarephysicians.com/skincancernet/skin_examinations.html. Accessed May 10, 2012.
- Preventive services for adults. Bloomington, Minn.: Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement. http://www.icsi.org/guidelines_and_more/gl_os_prot/preventive_health_maintenance/preventive_services_for_adults/preventive_services_for_adults__11.html. Accessed May 15, 2012.
- Zelboraf (prescribing information). South San Francisco, Calif.: Genentech Inc.; 2011. http://www.zelboraf.com/dermatology/index.html. Accessed May 11, 2012.
- U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for skin cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation statement. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2009;150:188.
- Melanoma. Fort Washington, Pa.: National Comprehensive Cancer Network. http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp. Accessed May 10, 2012.
- Melanoma treatment. National Cancer Institute. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/melanoma/healthprofessional/. Accessed May 10, 2012.
- Finn L, et al. Therapy for metastatic melanoma: The past, present and future. BMC Medicine. 2012;10:23.
- Reed KB, et al. Increasing incidence of melanoma among young adults: An epidemiological study in Olmsted County, Minnesota. Mayo Clinic Proceedings. 2012;87:328.
- Gibson LE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. May 17, 2012.
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