Sex-related difference in the risk of second primary cancers among cutaneous malignant melanoma survivors
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1
Department of Cardiologic, Vascular and Thoracic Sciences and Public Health, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, and Public Health, University of Padua, Italy
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Veneto Tumor Registry, Azienda Zero, Italy
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Soft-Tissue, Peritoneum and Melanoma Surgical Oncology Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology IOV-IRCCS, Italy
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Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padua, Italy
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Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, University of Padua, Padova, Italy
Publication date: 2023-04-27
Popul. Med. 2023;5(Supplement):A1447
ABSTRACT
Background and Objective: Personalized precision preventive medicine is a new public health challenge that demands a definition of target populations at greater risk of disease from a gender-sensitive perspective. Cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) survivors are more likely to develop second primary cancers than the general population. This study aims to identify any sex-related difference in this risk of second primary cancers (other than CMM) in patients diagnosed with CMM. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from a high-resolution, population-based cancer registry covering the Veneto Region (in Italy). The cohort included all CMM patients diagnosed between 1999 and 2018. All subsequent primary cancers occurring in this cohort, and the specific sites involved were considered. Cancer incidence rates were calculated stratifying the cohort by sex and tumor site, and standardizing patients by age and calendar-year group. Then the Standardized Incidence Ratio (SIR) was calculated as the ratio between the number of second cancers observed and the number that would be expected if CMM patients experienced the same cancer rates as the general reference population. Results: Data for 9,726 CMM survivors were analyzed. Males were at higher risk of subsequent prostate, thyroid, kidney and urinary tract cancers, while the risk for females was significantly higher for second breast cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and kidney and urinary tract cancers. Conclusions: Being diagnosed with CMM raises the risk of developing other subsequent primary cancers. Health care systems should offer patients who have been diagnosed with melanoma a tailored, specific cancer screening program and a generally greater commitment to proactive secondary prevention efforts to enable an early diagnosis of potentially gender-specific second primary tumors.