Australians with a family history of melanoma are more likely to develop the potentially deadly skin cancer on their limbs and at a younger age, new research has found.
People with many moles, however, are likely to detect a melanoma on their trunk.
Australian researchers at Sydney University have pinpointed a set of characteristics of melanoma according to a person's risk factors to help catch it earlier.
With Australia's incidence of melanoma among the highest in the world, this information will improve the identification and treatment of those at higher risk, said lead researcher Dr Caroline Watts.
"We found that people who had additional risk factors had melanoma younger and in certain areas," said Dr Watts.
"For people who didn't have additional risk factors they are more likely to get melanomas on their head and neck, areas that get constant sun exposure," she said.
The study, published in journal JAMA Dermatology, included 2727 patients with melanoma from the Melanoma Patterns of Care Study.
Just under 40 per cent were defined as higher risk because of family history, multiple primary melanomas or many moles. The most common risk factor in this group was having many moles, followed by a personal history and a family history.
It was found the average age at diagnosis was younger for higher-risk patients , 62 versus 65 years, compared with those patients at lower risk.
However, that age was even lower when broken up by specific risk factors.
People with a family history of melanoma were more likely to be diagnosed at age 56, while those with many moles were diagnosed at an average age of 59.
Higher-risk patients with many moles were more likely to have melanoma on the trunk and those with a family history were more likely to have melanomas on the limbs.
People with a personal history, that is a previous diagnosis, were more likely to have melanoma on the head and neck.
The results suggest that a person's risk factor status might be used to tailor their skin surveillance.
Dr Watts says for those at high risk it's really about monitoring the skin at an earlier age and in certain areas of the body.
"Their doctors can talk about where they should be looking for melanomas and that maybe they should be looking on their trunk and their limbs, areas that don't get the sun so much," she said.
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