Skin Melanoma and Subsequent Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Lithuanian Cancer Registry Study

Abstract

Emerging data indicates that melanoma may be linked to prostate cancer. We evaluated if the incidence of melanoma was associated with subsequent risk of prostate cancer (PC). We extracted data from the Lithuanian cancer registry from 1993 to 2012. We calculated the standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for PC as a ratio of observed number of cancer cases in people with previous melanoma diagnosis to the expected number of cancer cases in the underlying general population. Therein, 95% confidence intervals for the SIRs were estimated assuming the number of observed cancer cases follows the Poisson distribution. Overall, 65 PCs were observed versus 52.5 expected (SIR 1.24; 95% CI: 0.97–1.58) within a period of 24 years. A significantly increased risk of PC was found in patients with melanoma diagnosis over 70 years (SIR 1.62; 95% CI: 1.11–2.39) and in two periods of diagnosis (SIRs 1.76 and 1.62 in 1993–1997 and 2009–2012, respectively). A significantly increased risk was also found five to nine years after melanoma diagnosis (SIR 1.58; 95% CI: 1.05–2.38). Further studies are needed to evaluate the relationship between melanoma and subsequent risk of prostate cancer.