Abstract
Objective: To review the literature and place into a quantified context the relationship of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis to a subsequent diagnosis of malignant melanoma, and to briefly explore potential molecular associations between the two diseases.
 Methods: The Medline database was queried with terms related to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and malignant melanoma, with use of Boolean operator AND to identify studies involving both diseases. Studies were divided into primary and meta-analyses, with exclusive evaluation of those quantifying risk of malignant melanoma after an established diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Critical studies were identified using Medline searches to identify established quantified risk metrics between classic melanoma risk factors and subsequent development of malignant melanoma.
 Results: Twelve primary studies and three meta-analyses were evaluated and their risk metrices tabulated. Three studies offered estimated risk of development of malignant melanoma in patients with classic melanoma risk factors. These metrices were also tabulated and compared with the metrices established by the twelve primary studies. This demonstrated a similarity in overall risk of developing malignant melanoma in a patient with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease as compared to a patient with classical melanoma risk factors.
 Limitations: Relatively few studies identified specifically quantified the classic risk factors for melanoma, and relatively few studies specifically quantified the degree of risk for developing melanoma after an established Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
 Conclusion: It is wise to consider the presence of Parkinson’s disease in a patient as one factor when clinicians decide on the appropriateness of regular full body screening examinations.
Highlights
Characterizing the association between malignancy and Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been an enormous challenge
For early detection and screening for melanoma, we focused on the risk of any melanoma after an established PD diagnosis
A more accurate set of risk factors can help establish a consensus risk threshold to guide screening practices, which has been done in our review highlights the need for future studies to characterize the molecular link between melanoma and PD and the outcomes of melanoma diagnosed in patients with PD, such as the stage of melanoma at diagnosis and the relative survival of these patients
Summary
Characterizing the association between malignancy and Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been an enormous challenge. While most malignancies are generally observed to be less common in patients with PD, melanoma appears to be a notable exception. Many studies have evaluated the cellular and epidemiological connections, and most conclude that patients with PD are at a higher risk for developing melanoma.[1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14] Genetic studies of melanoma and PD have complicated the picture, highlighting exceedingly complex pathogenic models for each disease. The understanding of each particular disease has progressed, details of their relationship are elusive. The relationship between melanoma and PD seems natural, as both diseases involve the biological pigment melanin.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
