Racial Details for Melanoma: Melanoma is rare in black people and others with dark skin. (Source: excerpt from What You Need To Know About Melanoma: NCI)
Genetics of Melanoma: In some cases, the risk of developing melanoma runs in families, where a mutation in the CDKN2 gene on chromosome 9 can underlie susceptibility to melanoma. CDKN2 codes for a protein called p16 that is an important regulator of the cell division cycle; it stops the cell from synthesizing DNA before it divides. If p16 is not working properly, the skin cell does not have this brake on the cell division cycle and so can go on to proliferate unchecked. At some point this proliferation can be seen as a sudden change in skin growth or the appearance of a mole. (Source: Genes and Disease by the National Center for Biotechnology)
Inheritance of Melanoma refers to whether the condition is inherited from your parents or "runs" in families. The level of inheritance of a condition depends on how important genetics are to the disease. Strongly genetic diseases are usually inherited, partially genetic diseases are sometimes inherited, and non-genetic diseases are not inherited. For general information, see Introduction to Genetics.
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