Shining a light on melanomas that aren’t caused by the sun

Source: My Sunshine Coast, May 2017

‘Slip, slop, slap’ is synonymous with being Australian and playing it safe in the sun. These sun smart rules reduce our chances of getting melanoma of the skin. However, new research tells a different story for those affected by rarer forms of melanoma.

The genetic study, led by Australian researchers at Melanoma Institute Australia, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and The University of Sydney as part of the Australian Melanoma Genome Project, has found that melanomas on the hands and feet (known as acral) and internal surfaces (known as mucosal) are not linked to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. This is in contrast to melanoma of the skin, which is strongly related to UV radiation.

The research, published today in the prestigious Nature journal, shows that acral and mucosal melanoma have different causes to skin melanoma. This has implications for preventing and treating these forms of melanoma, which occur worldwide.