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Subject: Fwd: parkinsons and melanoma
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 16:12:44 EST
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Hi,Fellow PWPs ,
referring back to last week in January when the question of an
interrelationship
between/among melanoma, skin cancer, and PD came,I agreedtoask my
Dermatologist. I am forwarding his reply. And WE thank him forhis time and
professional expertise.
[log in to unmask] (Mary Manfredi)
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Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 10:40:51 -0500
From: "irving abrahams, m. d." <[log in to unmask]>
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To: "manfredi, mary" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: parkinsons and melanoma
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Dear Mary:
There are two questions: the first is the possible connection between
skin cancer and Parkinson=92s Disease (PD) and
the other is a possible connection between treatment for PD with l-dopa
and melanoma (M).
Dermatologists distinguish between M and =93non-melanoma skin cancers=94
(NMSC). The latter are more common and
less dangerous: the former can metastasize to other organs and are
therefore more dangerous. An association
between NMSC and PD has rarely been reliably reported; nmsc is more
common in people and groups with lighter
complexions; finally , both PDand NMSC show the same type of increased
incidence with age. That is , if people
with PD more frequently have NMSC it is because they are older, lighter
in complexion and more exposed to the sun
to the same extent as are NMSC people without PD.
M is a different matter. It is well known that l-dopa is part of the
metabolism of melanin pigment. Could this
increase the danger of PD patients being treated with l-dopa of
devloping M? The subject is discussed well by Frans
Rampen (JAAD 38:5 782-783 May 1998) in reply to an article by Pfuetzner
and Przybilla (JAAD 1997:37:332-6).
For a number of reasons I agree that the conclusions of Pfuetzner and
Przybilla are unacceptable at this time.
However, there is a need to study PD people over a long time in order to
answer the question of whether those
treated with l-dopa show a disposition to M after first pairing those
patients with others of similar complexion and
history of sun exposure. IA
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