Moles, according to experts, may now hold the clue to a person's risk of cancer. Reported on the BBC, the likelihood of developing Melanoma, a skin cancer type that begins as abnormal moles, may now be determined by counting the number of moles on an individual's arm.
Suggesting that 11 moles on an arm as indicative of above-average risk and a total count that exceeds 100 moles in the body as indicative of five times the regular risk, the study by researchers from King's College London used observation on 3,000 twins. These female twins were studied over a period of eight years where information gathered included their skin types and the number and nature of their freckles and moles. The study was repeated on around 400 men and women afflicted with melanoma. The researchers were consequently able to establish this easy method of assessing skin cancer risk.
The findings, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, aim at providing doctors with a much-needed insight on determining risk cases. In the UK alone, 13,000 cancer cases are associated with melanoma each year.
Simone Ribero, the study's lead author and member of the department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's says: "The findings could have a significant impact for primary care, allowing GPs to more accurately estimate the total number of moles in a patient extremely quickly via an easily accessible body part."
Co-author Veronique Bataille adds that by determining the number of moles on one arm, patients who require more immediate attention can be more quickly attended by specialists.
While most moles are relatively harmless, increased exposure to the sun may turn a regular mole into a malignant mole and result to skin cancer. Changes in the moles such as uneven colour and ragged edging as well as change in size or any bleeding and itching warrant an immediate visit to the doctor.
The public is cautioned that, although higher sun protection factor (SPF) should provide more protection to the skin, sunscreen should not be used as an excuse for extended exposure to harmful UVA and UVB rays.
Reported in The Guardian, a balance to the study is provided by Dr Claire Knight of Cancer Research UK, who says that less than half of melanoma cases develop from moles. She reminds further that melanoma can begin in any part of the body, more commonly on the legs with women and on the trunk with men.
