Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Dermatology, University of Turin, IT-10126 Turin, Italy.
Acta Derm Venereol. 2018 Jul 11;98(7):624-629. doi: 10.2340/00015555-2944.
As for all types of cancer, the incidence of melanoma increases with age. However, naevus counts (the principal risk factor for melanoma) decrease with age; hence the relationship between ageing and melanoma is complex. Subjects who maintain a high naevus count after the age of 50 years are more likely to be affected by melanoma, as their lesions do not senesce. Longer telomere length, which is strongly related to age, is linked to high naevus counts/melanoma risk; thus melanoma biology is influenced by factors that slow down ageing. Age is also an important prognostic factor in melanoma. Increasing age leads to worse survival in stages I, II and III. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) status, which is a strong predictor of melanoma survival, is also affected by age, as SLN positivity decreases with age. However, the prognostic value of SLN on survival increases with age, so, again, these relationships are complex. In patients with stage IV melanoma, age impacts on survival because it affects responses to treatment. This review examines the effects of age on melanoma risk, prognostic factors and responses to treatment.
对于所有类型的癌症，黑色素瘤的发病率随年龄增长而增加。然而，痣的数量（黑色素瘤的主要危险因素）随年龄增长而减少；因此，衰老与黑色素瘤之间的关系很复杂。50 岁以后仍保持高痣计数的受试者更容易受到黑色素瘤的影响，因为他们的病变不会衰老。与年龄密切相关的较长端粒长度与高痣计数/黑色素瘤风险有关；因此，黑色素瘤生物学受减缓衰老的因素影响。年龄也是黑色素瘤的一个重要预后因素。年龄增加导致 I、II 和 III 期的生存率下降。前哨淋巴结 (SLN) 状态是黑色素瘤生存的有力预测指标，也受年龄影响，因为随着年龄的增长，SLN 阳性率下降。然而，SLN 对生存的预后价值随年龄增加而增加，因此，这些关系仍然很复杂。在 IV 期黑色素瘤患者中，年龄影响生存，因为它影响对治疗的反应。这篇综述探讨了年龄对黑色素瘤风险、预后因素和治疗反应的影响。
