COULD THERE BE A LINK BETWEEN HAVING SKIN MOLES and your risk of developing breast cancer? Common moles (nevi) may be on your skin from the day you are born. Sometimes they appear after sun exposure, as a normal part of aging, or for no known reason. Do the number of moles you have correlate with your breast cancer risk?
Your mole number may correlate with your breast cancer risk. While counting your nevi won’t give you a good sense of your breast cancer risk, scientists are trying to better understand the mole: breast cancer relationship.
What is a nevus?
Have you ever taken note of your skin moles or dared to count them? I am aware of one next to my right elbow.
In the medical arena, we call these common moles nevi. An individual one is a nevus (nee·vuhs, or to my British friends, neh·vuhs). Nevi are quite common, with most of us having between ten and 40.
There are many types of nevi, with common nevi being harmless collections of colored cells. Common nevi are usually small brown, pink, or tan spots on the skin. Other nevi types are more serious.
We may also conveniently divide moles by the age at which we develop them. For example, if you had them at birth, we call them congenital nevi. Most of the time, though, we acquire more during childhood and adolescence. We call this latter type acquired nevi. We can also develop more moles later in life from sun exposure.
Can skin moleS (nevI) become threatening?
While it is unusual for a common mole to transform into melanoma — the most serious form of skin cancer — it can happen. Any of us can get melanoma, but if you have more than 50 common moles, you have a higher risk of melanoma.
The US National Cancer Institute explains that you immediately report a change in a common mole to your healthcare provider if you have any of these symptoms:
- The mole changes color.
- The mole becomes unevenly smaller or larger ( normal moles in children may become evenly larger).
- The mole changes in shape, texture, or height.
- The skin on the surface becomes dry or scaly.
- The mole becomes hard or lumpy.
- It starts to itch, bleed, or ooze.
Should all common moles be removed?
If you are like me, you may ask if your doctor should remove all of your common moles. The US National Cancer Institute has this to say: Normally, if we have a normal or so-called dysplastic nevus, it is uncommon to become a melanoma.
In addition, removing all skin moles does not prevent melanoma development, as melanoma can develop as a new colored area on the skin.
Skin moles (nevi) and breast cancer
Having moles doesn’t mean you will develop breast cancer, but some studies suggest an association between benign skin moles and breast cancer incidence.
Let’s look at a 2014 study that hints that women with more moles may have a higher risk of getting breast cancer before menopause. French researchers examined the records of just under 90,000 women, Nearly 6,000 developed breast cancer.
To hear the full story about the skin mole and breast cancer connection, please use this free link to my article on Medium:
Thank you.
