Melanoma has a significant mortality and its growing incidence is associated with important social and health care costs. Thus, investigation of the complex mechanisms contributing to emergence and development of
melanoma are of real interest both in scientific research and clinical practice.
Estrogens play an important role in the emergence and development of certain types of
cancer, such as
breast cancer,
endometrial cancer and
ovarian cancer, but their role in development of cutaneous
melanoma is still a matter of debate. Various data suggest that increased levels of endogenous
estrogens during pregnancy or exposure to exogenous
estrogens by use of
oral contraceptives (OCs) and
hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may have a potential role in
melanoma development and progression. Moreover, there were revealed several intracellular pathways which can support the connection between
estrogens,
estrogen receptors (ER) and
melanoma. While ER-β plays an antiproliferative role, ER-α promotes cell growth and cellular atypia. Thus, inhibition of ER-β activity in the skin can increase the risk for development of cutaneous
melanoma and spread of metastatic cells. However, despite recent advances in this area, the exact role and clinical implications of
estrogens and
estrogen receptors in
melanoma are still not entirely understood and require further investigations.