Are you more at risk for melanoma if you have had breast cancer?

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VernonSondakMD (Physician - Surgery - Surgical Oncology (Verified) ) - 06 / 07 / 2012

In general, no. We have not found an increased risk of melanoma in patients with breast cancer, although both diseases are relatively common so it is inevitable that some patients will be diagnosed with both. The tumors that are most associated with an increased risk of melanoma development are, not surprisingly, other forms of skin cancer – basal and squamous cell cancers. Less well known is that patients with some types of hematologic malignancies, particularly chronic lymphocytic leukemia (“CLL”), have a much higher than average risk of also getting melanoma and other skin cancers. So anyone with a history of skin cancer or CLL, or people with multiple large moles and/or a family history of melanoma, should see a dermatologist for skin checks on at least an annual basis.
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member2496 (Survivor (2 - 5 years)) - 10 / 12 / 2012

Interesting because I've had both breast cancer and ocular melanoma. I realize ocular melanoma is different than cutaneous melanoma but I was told by my oncologist and geneticist that there is a link between the two cancers. I qualified to have BRCA1 and BRCA2 testing done, I had a variant of BRCA1. I was told it is those with BRCA2 who run a higher risk of having both ocular melanoma and breast cancer. Ocular melanoma is a rare orphan cancer, much rarer than cutaneous melanoma.
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