Dietary factors in the etiology of melanoma

Abstract

Although much attention has been focused on the role of nutritional factors in carcinogenesis, the relationship of diet to malignant melanoma has remained relatively unexplored. This may be so because dietary effects have been demonstrated mainly in epithelial tumor systems. Furthermore, sunlight exposure and constitutional susceptibility appear to play such major roles in the etiology of melanoma that a weak risk factor such as diet may be difficult to detect with current epidemiologic instruments. Evidence has accumulated, primarily from experimental studies, that diet may play a role in the etiology of malignant melanoma. Much experimental work has been conducted on the effects of dietary constituents on ultraviolet (UV) carcinogenesis. Because good animal models involving UV radiation in the production of melanoma have been lacking, most of this work has used the mouse squamous cell carcinoma model. Several studies have also explored the effects of dietary constituents on melanoma cell cultures and on transplantable melanocytic tumors. Some epidemiologic data are also available. These studies are reviewed here by group of dietary constituents.