What Is Skin Cancer?

Family History

Family History

Some kinds of skin cancer like melanoma can run in families. It’s observed that one in every ten patients is diagnosed with melanoma has a family member with a history of skin disease. If any close relatives have melanoma, their chances of acquiring skin cancer are very high compared to people with no family history. People with first-degree relatives have more chances of having skin cancer. Therefore, when melanoma is diagnosed in a patient, the doctors ask close relatives to be examined for melanoma.

Around 10 to 15% of people with skin cancer have a close relative with the disease. This could be due to gene mutation or the changes that DNA causes in the tumor suppressor gene.