ABSTRACT
Cutaneous melanoma accounts for approximately 1% of all malignancies. Epidemiologic studies have revealed an increasing incidence of melanoma associated with a decrease in age at diagnosis, so that approximately 35% of women with melanoma will be diagnosed during the fertile years. Genetic predisposition and increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation play major roles in melanoma development. Surgical excision is the main treatment for cutaneous melanoma. The Melanoma Staging Committee of the American Joint Committee on Cancer has recently proposed major revisions of melanoma staging criteria. Contrasting data exist about hormonal and reproductive factors and risk of melanoma in women. Clinical investigation of the role of tamoxifen in combination therapy for advanced melanoma has produced inconclusive results. The role of sex steroid hormones in the growth of human malignant melanoma has been suggested by the low incidence of this tumor before puberty, the high incidence postmenopause, and the better prognosis in women than in men.
