Pregnancy- Associated Melanoma

Melanoma is one of the most frequent malignancies during pregnancy. Among women pregnancy- associated melanoma may have a poorer prognosis than other melanomas. Pregnancy is a state of reduced cellular immunity to prevent rejection of the fetus; however this relative suppression of the host immune system could enhance the growth of melanomas during pregnancy.Increased lymphangiogenesis occurring during pregnancy, could also worsen the outcome of a coinciding melanoma. After a primary melanoma develops, the prognosis worsens with the development of lymphatic metastases. The aim of this article is to demonstrate that attention to early diagnosis and management of melanoma in pregnant women is very important.