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. 2021 Jun 23;13(13):3143.
doi: 10.3390/cancers13133143.

A Randomized Trial of Precision Prevention Materials to Improve Primary and Secondary Melanoma Prevention Activities among Individuals with Limited Melanoma Risk Phenotypes

John Charles A Lacson  1 , Scarlet H Doyle  1 , Lu Qian  2 , Jocelyn Del Rio  1 , Stephanie M Forgas  1 , Stella Valavanis  1 , Rodrigo Carvajal  3 , Guillermo Gonzalez-Calderon  3 , Youngchul Kim  4 , Richard G Roetzheim  5 , Steven K Sutton  4 , Susan T Vadaparampil  6 , Peter A Kanetsky  1
Affiliations

A Randomized Trial of Precision Prevention Materials to Improve Primary and Secondary Melanoma Prevention Activities among Individuals with Limited Melanoma Risk Phenotypes

John Charles A Lacson et al. Cancers (Basel). .

Abstract

Inherited variation at MC1R is associated with elevated melanoma risk among non-Hispanic whites (NHWs). MC1R genetic testing may unmask previously unrecognized disease risk, especially among individuals with few melanoma phenotypic risk factors. We recruited NHW individuals with limited phenotypic risk factors from two primary care clinics in west-central Florida. Participants (n = 1134) were randomized within MC1R genotype risk group (average/higher) to receive mailed precision prevention (i.e., intervention) or generic prevention materials. Participants reported hours of weekday and weekend sun exposure, frequency of intentional outdoor tanning and sun protection behaviors, number of sunburns, indoor tanning episodes, and skin examinations at baseline, and after 6 and 12 months. Among MC1R higher-risk participants, the intervention increased the likelihood of often or always wearing a shirt with sleeves (OR = 1.49, p = 0.03) and seeking shade or using an umbrella (OR = 1.42, p = 0.046), and it decreased the number of sunburns among their young children (β = -0.13, p = 0.03). Intervention effects were not noted among MC1R average-risk participants. Moderation analyses identified intervention effects within subgroups in average-risk and higher-risk participants. Precision prevention information conveying MC1R testing results can increase the practice of some sun protection behaviors among at-risk individuals with limited melanoma risk phenotypes and may provide a cross-generational tool to counteract increasing incidence of melanoma.

Keywords: MC1R; genetic testing; intervention trial; melanoma; precision prevention; prevention; public health genetics; randomized trial; sun-resistant.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram of the parallel randomized intervention trial.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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