Parkinson's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Parkinson's Disease, including details on symptoms, treatment, genetics, medication.

Malignant melanoma in early Parkinson's disease: the DATATOP trial.

Constantinescu R, Romer M, Kieburtz K,

Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14620, USA. radu.constantinescu@ctcc.rochester.edu

The available epidemiological data on the incidence of malignant melanoma in Parkinson's disease are contradictory. The role of levodopa therapy in this context has been debated. We identified all known cases of malignant melanoma (N = 5) in the DATATOP clinical trial cohort and compared that to published expected values (N = 1.5) for a standard healthy population. The standardized event ratio was 3.3 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-7.8), indicating that incidence of malignant melanoma was higher than expected. We found no association between levodopa therapy and the incidence of melanoma.

Published 1 May 2007 in Mov Disord, 22(5): 720-2.
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