A comparative study of Merkel cell carcinoma and melanoma incidence and survival in the United States, 2000-2021.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) and melanoma are important contributors to skin cancer mortality in the United States. We evaluated their epidemiology using US cancer registry data. During 2000-2021, 19,444 MCCs and 646,619 melanomas of the skin were diagnosed.

Increased frequency of germline pathogenic variants among individuals with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans.

Purpose: To identify candidate susceptibility genes for dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP).

Methods: All individuals with DFSP from the International Sarcoma Kindred Study ( = 3767 individuals with sarcoma diagnoses from Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and United States) and cohorts that were not ascertained based on sarcoma status or other phenotypes (Geisinger MyCode,  = 170,503 individuals, United States; UK Biobank,  = 469,789 individuals, United Kingdom) were evaluated for germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in 156 cancer genes.

Results: There were 92 unrelated individuals with DFSP across the 3 cohorts.

Merkel Cell Carcinoma and Immunosuppression, UV Radiation, and Merkel Cell Polyomavirus.

Importance: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare but aggressive skin cancer. Quantifying the contribution of major potentially modifiable risk factors to the burden of MCC may inform prevention efforts.

Objective: To estimate the population attributable fraction of MCC cases in the US that were attributable to major immunosuppressing conditions (eg, HIV, solid organ transplant, chronic lymphocytic leukemia [CLL]), ambient UV radiation [UVR] exposure, and Merkel cell polyomavirus [MCPyV]).

Ambient ultraviolet A, ultraviolet B, and risk of melanoma in a nationwide United States cohort, 1984-2014.

Background: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure is the primary risk factor for melanoma, although the relationship is complex. Compared with radiation from UVB wavelengths, UVA makes up a majority of the surface solar UVR, penetrates the skin more deeply, is the principal range emitted by tanning beds, and is less filtered by sunscreens and window glass. Few studies have examined the relationship between ambient UVA and UVB and melanoma risk.

Outcomes in solid organ transplant recipients with a pretransplant diagnosis of melanoma.

Melanoma causes significant morbidity in solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs). Melanomas diagnosed before transplantation can recur with intensive immunosuppression, but outcomes have not been well studied. We evaluated 901 non-Hispanic White SOTRs with a pretransplant melanoma identified using linked transplant and cancer registry data in the United States.

Ambient ultraviolet radiation and ocular melanoma incidence in the United States, 2000-2019.

Background/objectives: Ocular melanoma is a rare, but deadly cancer. This large cancer registry study examines the associations between solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and incidence of different anatomical sites of ocular melanoma by sex, age, laterality, and race and ethnicity.

Methods: Incidence data were derived from 21 cancer registries in the US for the years 2000-2019.

Atypical Spitz tumor with SQSTM1::NTRK2 fusion: Report of a case with unique spindled cell features.

A host of signature genetic alterations have been demonstrated in Spitz neoplasms, most notably fusions of kinase genes (including BRAF, ALK, ROS1, NTRK1, NTRK3, RET, MET, MAP3K8) or variants in HRAS. While there are multiple reports of rearrangements involving NTRK1 and NTRK3 in Spitz tumors, there are very few reports of NTRK2-rearranged Spitz nevi in the literature. This report presents an NTRK2-rearranged atypical Spitz tumor with spindled cell features.

Estimated Prevalence, Tumor Spectrum, and Neurofibromatosis Type 1-Like Phenotype of CDKN2A-Related Melanoma-Astrocytoma Syndrome.

Importance: Knowledge about the prevalence and tumor types of CDKN2A-related melanoma-astrocytoma syndrome (MAS) is limited and could improve disease recognition.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and describe the tumor types of MAS.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study analyzed all available MAS cases from medical centers in the US (2 sites) and Europe (2 sites) and from biomedical population genomic databases (UK Biobank [United Kingdom], Geisinger MyCode [US]) between January 1, 1976, and December 31, 2020.

Association of germline variants in telomere maintenance genes ( and ) with spitzoid morphology in familial melanoma: A multi-center case series.

Background: Spitzoid morphology in familial melanoma has been associated with germline variants in , a telomere maintenance gene (TMG), suggesting a link between telomere biology and spitzoid differentiation.

Objective: To assess if familial melanoma cases associated with germline variants in TMG (, , , and ) commonly exhibit spitzoid morphology.

Methods: In this case series, melanomas were classified as having spitzoid morphology if at least 3 of 4 dermatopathologists reported this finding in ≥25% of tumor cells.

Impact of Transcript (p16/p14ARF) Alteration on Cancer Risk in CDKN2A Germline Pathogenic Variant Carriers.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the relationship between CDKN2A germline pathogenic variants (GPV), transcript (p16/p14ARF) alteration, and cancer risk.

Methods: Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) comparing cancer risk with the general population were calculated for 385 CDKN2A GPV carriers from 2 large cohorts (259 United States and 126 Swedish individuals) using Poisson regression; statistical significance was defined as P less than .002 (Bonferroni correction).

Risk of Nonkeratinocyte Skin Cancers in People Living with HIV during the Era of Antiretroviral Therapy.

Antiretroviral therapy may alter susceptibility to nonkeratinocyte skin cancers (NKSCs) by improving immunity in people living with HIV. Using linked data from HIV and cancer registries in 12 states/regions in the United States during the antiretroviral therapy era (1996‒2018), we calculated standardized incidence ratios for 27 NKSCs, comparing incidence with that of the general population. Risk factors for NKSCs were evaluated using Poisson regression.

Use of Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Incidence of Melanoma in the United States Radiologic Technologists Study.

Unlabelled: Although NSAIDs have been associated with both reduced and increased cutaneous melanoma risk, few studies have examined these associations by ultraviolet radiation (UVR) or personal sun-sensitivity. We examined the associations between NSAID use and first primary invasive cutaneous melanoma among 58,227 non-Hispanic white participants in the United States Radiologic Technologists cohort study. Poisson regression was used to calculate rate ratios (RR) and 95% likelihood-based confidence intervals (CI), adjusting for attained age, birth cohort, and ambient UVR.

Cutaneous melanocytic tumor with CRTC1::TRIM11 fusion and prominent epidermal involvement: A case report.

Cutaneous melanocytic tumor with CRTC1::TRIM11 fusion (CMCT) is a recently described entity with only 13 cases reported in the literature. Histopathologically, the neoplasm consists of atypical epithelioid to spindled cells that form a well-circumscribed nodule usually confined to the dermis and subcutis with cytological features including large vesicular nuclei with prominent nucleoli and abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm. Immunohistochemistry shows variable expressivity of melanocytic markers.

Spectrum of Nonkeratinocyte Skin Cancer Risk Among Solid Organ Transplant Recipients in the US.

Importance: Nonkeratinocyte skin cancers are an important cause of morbidity and mortality for immunosuppressed solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs), but the spectrum of disease and risk factor characteristics are unknown.

Objective: To characterize the spectrum of disease and risk factors for common and rare nonkeratinocyte skin cancers in SOTRs.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This population-based cohort study included 444 497 SOTRs who underwent a transplant in the US between January 1, 1987, and December 31, 2017, using linked data from the national transplant registry and 32 cancer registries.

Reproductive factors, hormone use, and incidence of melanoma in a cohort of US Radiologic Technologists.

Study Question: Are reproductive factors and exogenous hormone use associated with incidence of cutaneous melanoma while accounting for ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure across different life periods and sun sensitivity factors?

Summary Answer: Earlier age at menarche and late age at first birth, but not other estrogen-related factors were associated with an increased incidence rate of melanoma, with higher risks observed for earlier age at menarche and light hair color at age 15 years.

What Is Known Already: Although estrogens have been recognized as photosensitizing, previous studies have reported inconsistent findings for the association of melanoma with estrogen-related factors. Most have not collected detailed skin cancer risk factors and have not thoroughly investigated effect modification by ambient UVR and sun sensitivity.

Solar UVR and Variations in Systemic Immune and Inflammation Markers.

The characterization of the effects of solar UVR on a broad set of circulating markers in systemic immunity and inflammation may provide insight into the mechanisms responsible for the UVR associations observed for several benign and malignant diseases. We examined the associations between exposure to solar UVR and circulating levels of 78 markers among 1,819 individuals aged 55-74 years who participated in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial using multiplex assays. Solar UVR was derived by linking the geocoded locations of 10 screening centers across the continental United States and the date of blood draw to the National Solar Radiation Database from 1993 to 2005.