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Papillary thyroid cancer, melanoma demonstrated related risks
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Patients with papillary thyroid cancer or cutaneous malignant melanoma demonstrated an increased risk for the other cancer, according to results of a retrospective review.
Gretchen M. Oakley, MD, of the division of otolaryngology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and colleagues used the Utah Population Database to identify 4,460 patients with papillary thyroid cancer and 14,569 patients with cutaneous melanoma diagnosed between 1966 and 2011.
The analysis also included a cohort of matched, population-based controls (5:1 ratio), and the first- through fifth-degree relatives and spouses of the patients with papillary thyroid cancer or melanoma, for comparison.
Overall, patients with cutaneous melanoma demonstrated a 2.3-fold increased risk for papillary thyroid cancer compared with controls (P˂.001). Patients with papillary thyroid cancer were at a 1.8-fold increased risk for melanoma compared with controls (P˂.001).
However, the first- through fifth-degree relatives of the patients with papillary thyroid cancer or melanoma did not demonstrate a statistically significant increased risk.
Eight patients had papillary thyroid cancer and melanoma. Of those patients, four (50%) harbored a BRAFV600E mutation in a tissue sample from one of their tumor types. Three patients (38%) harbored mutated BRAFV600E in both their papillary thyroid cancer and melanoma samples.
“Although the BRAFV600E tumor mutation has not yet been definitively identified as a genetic link between papillary thyroid cancer and cutaneous melanoma, these data support a possible common path of carcinogenesis,” the researchers wrote. “Translational studies are needed to better define the associated genetic predisposition between papillary thyroid cancer and cutaneous melanoma and to test the efficacy of and implementation techniques for treatment plans using BRAF mutation as a therapeutic target.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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