HLA in familial malignant melanoma.

In a family displaying the familial atypical multiple-mole melanoma syndrome, linkage analyses were performed between HLA and an assumed dominant gene respectively determining each of the following affected phenotypes: precursor lesions; cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM); and precursor lesions or CMM or both. The results suggest that there is a complex mechanism involving several factors, genetic and environmental interacting with the gene determining precursor lesions to cause the neoplastic transformation.