Where your DNA places you among other people, and the studies behind it.
Not tailored to your result, and not medical advice
Prevent Sunburn At Every Age: A meta-analysis pooling 51 independent study populations found melanoma risk rose with the number of sunburns in every life period, not only childhood. Scaled to five sunburns per decade, the pooled odds ratio was 2.02 for childhood sunburns, 1.42 for adolescence, 3.27 for adulthood and 3.24 across a lifetime, so adult burns carried the largest per-decade association. Shade in the middle of the day, long sleeves, a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses all cut the UV dose that causes burning. These are observational studies, so the figures describe association rather than a measured causal effect. Annals of Epidemiology (PMC)
Skip Sunbeds And Indoor Tanning: A 2021 systematic review pooling 36 studies and 14,583 melanoma cases found indoor tanning use was associated with higher melanoma risk (summary RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.16 to 1.39). The association was stronger for melanoma diagnosed before age 50 (RR 1.75), for people who first used a tanning device at age 20 or younger (RR 1.47), and for those using one 10 or more times a year (RR 1.52). That pattern by age at first use and by frequency is why the authors described indoor tanning as a modifiable behavior that prevention efforts can target. Cancers (PMC)
Use Sunscreen Daily, Not Occasionally: In an Australian randomised trial, 1,621 adults were assigned either to apply sunscreen to exposed skin such as the head and arms every day, or to use it at their own discretion. Ten years after the trial ended, 11 new primary melanomas had occurred in the daily group against 22 in the discretionary group, a difference that did not reach conventional statistical significance (hazard ratio 0.50, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.02, P = 0.051). For invasive melanoma the counts were 3 versus 11 (hazard ratio 0.27, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.97), but on numbers that small the authors phrased the finding cautiously as melanoma 'may be preventable by regular sunscreen use in adults'. Daily habitual use, rather than occasional use on beach days, is what the trial actually tested. Journal of Clinical Oncology (PubMed)
Watch Your Moles For Change: Mole count is one of the most consistently reported markers of melanoma risk. A meta-analysis of 46 observational studies estimated a relative risk of 6.89 (95% CI 4.63 to 10.25) for people with 101 to 120 common moles compared with fewer than 15, and 6.36 (95% CI 3.80 to 10.33) for five atypical moles versus none. You cannot change your mole count, but knowing what your own skin normally looks like makes a new or changing spot easier to notice. A mole that is changing in size, shape or color, or a new pigmented lesion that looks unlike the others on your body, is worth showing to a clinician. European Journal of Cancer (PubMed)
Weigh The Prevention Evidence Honestly: UV exposure is an established melanoma risk factor, but the proof that any single prevention behavior lowers melanoma incidence is thinner than public messaging suggests. The NCI's skin cancer prevention summary states that it has not been proven that using sunscreen to prevent sunburn protects against melanoma caused by UV radiation, and that it is not known whether staying out of the sun, using sunscreen or wearing protective clothing decreases nonmelanoma skin cancer risk. What sunscreen has been shown to reduce is sunburn and actinic keratoses. Sun protection is still widely advised because the risk-factor evidence for UV is strong, but the honest framing is risk reduction rather than guaranteed prevention. National Cancer Institute (PDQ)
How much of this is genetic?
Genetics explains 58% of why people differ in this trait. The rest is environment, daily habits and chance.
Heritability estimate: Mucci et al. 2016, JAMA
Background and further reading
Melanoma is a cancer that arises from melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells of the skin. Although it accounts for a small fraction of skin cancers, it is responsible for most skin-cancer deaths because it can spread (metastasize) if not caught early. Melanoma often appears as a new pigmented spot or a change in an existing mole, and the classic warning features are summarized by the ABCDE rule: Asymmetry, Border irregularity, Color variation, Diameter greater than about 6 mm, and Evolution or change over time. When detected while still confined to the skin, melanoma is highly treatable; outcomes are much better with early recognition.
Genetic Basis: Melanoma is moderately heritable. A large Nordic twin study estimated the heritability of melanoma at roughly 58%, among the highest of the common cancers. Susceptibility is a mix of rare high-penetrance mutations, most notably in the CDKN2A gene that runs in familial melanoma families, and many common lower-effect variants captured by a polygenic score. The strongest common-variant signals cluster around pigmentation genes, including MC1R (the main red-hair and fair-skin gene), TYR, TYRP1, ASIP, SLC45A2 and OCA2, alongside loci involved in nevus (mole) count and in telomere maintenance such as TERT. Because so many of these variants also shape hair and skin color, a higher score frequently reflects a fair, freckling, easily-burning, sun-sensitive phenotype.
Environmental Factors: Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the dominant modifiable driver of melanoma. Cumulative sun exposure and, in particular, episodes of intense intermittent exposure and blistering sunburns, especially in childhood, raise risk, as does the use of indoor tanning beds. Risk is also higher in people with many or atypical moles, fair skin that burns rather than tans, red or blonde hair, light eyes, and a personal or family history of skin cancer. Sun-protective habits such as seeking shade, wearing protective clothing and broad-spectrum sunscreen, and avoiding tanning beds meaningfully reduce exposure, and becoming familiar with your own skin makes early changes easier to notice.
The published research behind your score, and the variants it draws on.
9 published scores from 3 studies
The melanoma score combines 9 polygenic scores drawn from 3 published studies.
These traits are influenced by some of the same genes and variants as this one
Leukemia: A cancer of the blood-forming tissues, represented here mainly by lymphoid leukemia.
Content updated August 2026.
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