An interactive tool designed by scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of California, San Francisco, to estimate a person's absolute risk of developing invasive melanoma. The tool helps clinicians identify individuals at increased risk of melanoma in order to plan appropriate screening interventions with them.

JCO Publication

Before using the tool, please note the following:

• The melanoma risk calculator was designed for use by health professionals during a routine physical examination that includes recording of information about the patient's personal and family medical history and an examination of the skin on the patient's back and shoulders. If you are not a health professional, you are strongly encouraged to discuss the results obtained with this tool and your personal risk of melanoma with your doctor.



• The MRAT risk calculator may be updated periodically as new data or research becomes available.



• This tool should not be used to estimate melanoma risk for people who have already had a diagnosis of melanoma, melanoma-in-situ, non-melanoma skin cancer, or a family history of melanoma. These individuals should be in screening and surveillance programs.



• The melanoma risk calculator was developed using data from a large case-control study in the United States. Risks are estimated for non-Hispanic whites only; data for other races/ethnicities are too limited to accurately estimate risk.



• A recent version of Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Netscape is recommended.



• For information to help your patients understand cancer risk visit http://understandingrisk.cancer.gov. This interactive Web site will help your patients make informed decisions about how to lower their risk.