[Clinico-genetic aspects of cutaneous melanoma. I. Incidence, familial study, genetic heterogeneity].

Epidemiologic and clinical genetic data on cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) are presented. The incidence of CMM in Moscow from 1983 to 1987 was analyzed. Cumulative incidence (cumulative risk) was calculated for various life periods on the basis of estimates for various age groups, which were used as population frequencies. By the age of 85, these frequencies were 0.35% for males and 0.38% for females. Among relatives of patients, the incidence of CMM was 1.420 +/- 0.498% for males and 1.110 +/- 0.348% for females; i.e., the incidence exceeded the population frequency by a factor of 3 or 4. As a whole, the familial frequency of cancer was equal to 13.3% for male probands and 14.2% for female probands, i.e., more than three times higher than the population frequency. The data obtained formed the basis for the development of CMM classification. hereditary and nonhereditary variants of cutaneous melanoma were identified. Familial cases and CMM that occurred against the background of inherited disease or syndromes were classified as hereditary variants of CMM; taken together, they accounted for 38.8%. The data provided grounds for identification of families at increased risk for the development of CMM.