Malignant melanoma and pregnancy ten questions.

ABSTRACT

Eight patient case vignettes are presented to illustrate the possible relationship between melanoma and pregnancy. We pose 10 questions regarding the risk and prognosis and answer them based on information in the medical literature. Key conclusions are that there is no evidence that the risk for melanoma is influenced by pregnancy; there is no evidence that abortion in pregnant women diagnosed with melanoma is therapeutic for the mother or necessary to prevent melanoma in the fetus; although as a group, pregnant women diagnosed with melanoma may have a somewhat worse prognosis compared with nonpregnant controls, this difference disappears when patients are matched for factors including age, location and depth of primary, or stage of disease; and there is still a concern that pregnant women may present with more invasive or advanced disease due to hormonal or growth factor effects or delays in diagnosis because changes are attributed to pregnancy.