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Role of BMI and hormone therapy in melanoma risk: a case–control study

Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology volume 143, pages 1191–1197 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Currently, the association between body mass index (BMI) and hormone therapies and Cutaneous Melanoma (CM) development is strongly debated. This study was carried out to assess the association between BMI, hormone therapies, and CM risk.

Methods

The present study is a hospital-based case–control study with 605 consecutive CM patients and 592 controls treated for non-neoplastic conditions at the Department of Dermatology in Florence. The associations of melanoma risk with BMI and hormone therapies were assessed performing unconditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and their 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for potential confounders.

Results

We found a significant interaction of BMI with age (P < 0.0001): being overweight significantly increased CM risk among individuals less than 50 years old (OR = 1.85 with 95% CI 1.14–2.94), whereas the association was not significant for individuals over 50 years old (OR = 1.15 with 95% CI 0.77–1.71). For oestrogen therapy, women taking oral contraceptives (OCs)/hormone replacement therapy (HRT) showed a lower CM risk than men (OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.44–0.89), with risk estimates significantly lower (P < 0.0001) than in non OCs/HRT users, which had an increased risk compared to men (OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.29–2.53).

Conclusions

Being overweight was significantly associated with CM risk, and this relationship was highly age-conditioned; the second finding was the protective effect of oestrogen therapies for women. Both findings may have a significant impact on melanoma prevention, as the prevalence of obesity and hormone therapy use is increasing worldwide.

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Abbreviations

CM:

Cutaneous melanoma

NMSC:

Non-melanoma skin cancer

OCs:

Oral contraceptives

HRT:

Hormone replacement therapy

BMI:

Body mass index

OR:

Odds ratio

CI:

Confidence interval

ERs:

Oestrogen receptors

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, University of Florence, Via Michelangelo 41, 50124, Florence, Italy

    Vincenzo De Giorgi, Imma Savarese, Antonietta D’Errico, Federica Scarfì & Federica Papi

  2. Cancer Research “Attilia Pofferi” Foundation, Pistoia, Italy

    Vincenzo De Giorgi & Alessia Gori

  3. Department of Human Pathology and Oncology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Vincenza Maio & Daniela Massi

  4. Department of Dermatology, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Piero Covarelli

  5. Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Sara Gandini

Authors
  1. Vincenzo De Giorgi
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  2. Alessia Gori
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  3. Imma Savarese
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  4. Antonietta D’Errico
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  5. Federica Scarfì
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  6. Federica Papi
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  7. Vincenza Maio
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  8. Piero Covarelli
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  9. Daniela Massi
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  10. Sara Gandini
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vincenzo De Giorgi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Vincenzo De Giorgi declares that he has no conflict of interest. Alessia Gori declares that she has no conflict of interest. Imma Savarese declares that she has no conflict of interest. Antonietta D’Errico declares that she has no conflict of interest. Federica Scarfi declares that she has no conflict of interest. Federica Papi declares that she has no conflict of interest. Vincenza Maio declares that she has no conflict of interest. Piero Covarelli declares that he has no conflict of interest. Daniela Massi declares that she has no conflict of interest. Sara Gandini declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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De Giorgi, V., Gori, A., Savarese, I. et al. Role of BMI and hormone therapy in melanoma risk: a case–control study. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 143, 1191–1197 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-017-2387-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-017-2387-5

Keywords

  • Cutaneous melanoma
  • Body mass index
  • Overweight status
  • Hormone therapies
  • Age