MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Riccardo Pampena MD and Caterina Longo, MD, PhD Dermatology Unit University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova-IRCCS Reggio Emilia Italy MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: High heterogeneity has been reported in previous studies on the ratio of melanoma associated with moles (nevus-associated melanomas). Despite this heterogeneity, researchers agree that some melanomas may develop in conjunction with a pre-existing mole. We know that nevus-associated melanomas are usually located on the trunk and more frequently occur in younger patients than de novo melanomas (not nevus-associated). Defining the risk for a melanoma to arise in association with a pre-existing mole is important in order to define the best strategies for early melanoma diagnosis. The main finding of our study is that only one third of melanomas arose from a pre-existing mole, in fact the majority were de novo. We also found that nevus-associated melanomas were less aggressive than de novo. (more…)