Researchers at King's College London have investigated a new method that could be used by GPs to quickly determine the number of moles on the entire body by counting the number found on a smaller 'proxy' body area, such as an arm. 
 
 Naevus (mole) count is one of the most important markers of risk for skin cancer despite only 20 to 40 per cent of melanoma arising from pre-existing moles. The risk is thought to increase by two to four per cent per additional mole on the body, but counting the total number on the entire body can be time consuming in a primary care setting. 
 
 Previous studies on a smaller scale have attempted to identify mole count on certain body sites as a proxy to accurately estimate the number on the body as a whole and found that the arm was the most predictive. 
 
 This study, funded by the Wellcome Trust, used a much larger sample of participants to identify the most useful 'proxy' site for a full body mole count as well as the 'cut off' number of moles that can be used to predict those at the highest risk of developing skin cancer. 
 
 The researchers used data from 3594 female Caucasian twins between January 1995 and December 2003 as part of the TwinsUK study protocol. Twins underwent a skin examination including recording skin type, hair and eye colour and freckles as well as mole count on 17 body sites performed by trained nurses. This was then replicated in a wider sample of male and female participants from a UK melanoma case control study published previously. 
 
 Scientists found that the count of moles on the right arm was most predictive of the total number on the whole body. Females with more than seven moles on their right arm had nine times the risk of having more than 50 on the whole body and those with more than 11 on their right arm were more likely to have over 100 on their body in total, meaning they were at a higher risk of developing a melanoma. 
 
 These findings could help GPs to more easily identify those at the highest risk of developing a melanoma (skin cancer). 
 
 Scientists also found that the area above the right elbow was particularly predictive of the total body count of moles. The legs were also strongly associated with the total count as well as the back area in males. 
 
 Lead author, Simone Ribero of the Department of Twin Research & Genetic Epidemiology said: 'This study follows on from previous work to identify the best proxy site for measuring the number of moles on the body as a whole. The difference here is that it has been done on a much larger scale in a healthy Caucasian population without any selection bias and subsequently replicated in a case control study from a similar healthy UK population, making the results more useful and relevant for GPs. 
 
 'The findings could have a significant impact for primary care, allowing GPs to more accurately estimate the total number of moles in a patient extremely quickly via an easily accessible body part. This would mean that more patients at risk of melanoma can be identified and monitored.' 
 
 ### ||||| People who have 11 or more moles on one of their arms could have a higher risk of the deadly skin cancer melanoma, according to a new study. 
 
 Researchers counted the number of moles that study participants had on 17 sites on the skin of their bodies — such as the left leg, the chest and the back — and found that the arms were the site that was the best indicator of the total number of moles on the whole body. 
 
 For example, women with at least seven moles on an arm were nine times more likely to have at least 50 moles on their entire body than those who had fewer than seven moles on their right arm. And those with at least 11 moles on an arm were more likely to have at least 100 moles on their whole body — a sign of a drastically increased risk of skin cancer. 
 
 The findings suggest that the arm could be the best place to look to estimate the number of moles on the whole body. "Many different body sites were predictive of total body mole count, but at the end, the strongest one was the arm," said lead study author Simone Ribero, a research fellow at King's College London, adding that the right or left arm work as a good indicator of the total number of moles on the whole body. [5 Things You Must Know About Skin Cancer ] 
 
 There will be an estimated 74,000 new cases of melanoma in the United States in 2015, and 10,000 of those people will die of the disease this year, according to the National Cancer Institute. 
 
 The total number of moles a person has is an important marker that can help determine their risk of skin cancer, according to the researchers. 
 
 In the new study, the researchers looked at data from 3,694 female Caucasian twins who were taking part in a long-running study of twins in the United Kingdom, called the TwinsUK study. Between January 1995 and December 2003, the participants underwent a skin examination in which researchers recorded their skin type, eye color and freckles, hair color and moles. 
 
 The researchers also confirmed the link they found between total mole count and the number of moles on the right arm using data from another study, which included male and female participants. 
 
 Two other body sites — the area above the right elbow, and the legs — were also found to be particularly predictive of a person's total body mole count. In men, the number of moles on the back was a good indicator of total mole count as well, the researchers said. 
 
 A person's melanoma risk is thought to increase by 2 to 4 percent with each additional mole on the body, the researchers said. However, determining the total number of moles on the whole body can be difficult and time-consuming. 
 
 "Every dermatologist and physician in general knows that the risk of melanoma increases with the total body number of moles, but counting moles is a very long procedure," Riberosaid. "We hope that this technique will be helpful for this." 
 
 However, there are other factors that may better determine a person's risk of melanoma, said Dr. Hooman Khorasani, chief of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, who was not involved in the study. 
 
 "Genetic composition is way more important, as well as how the moles look," Khorasani said. For example, moles that doctors call "dysplastic nevi," which are unusual, benign moles butthat resemble moles that indicate the presence of melanoma are essential to distinguish from other moles because they signal an increased cancer risk. 
 
 According to the American Cancer Society, people with greater exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, and those with fair skin, freckles, light hair or a family history of melanoma face an increased risk of melanoma. 
 
 "It's more important that you look at a person's risk factors than count the number of moles on their arm," Khorasani said. 
 
 The study was published Monday (Oct. 19) in the British Journal of Dermatology. 
 
 Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Originally published on Live Science. ||||| It's a good idea to keep an eye on your moles, to see if any of them are changing, which can be a sign of skin cancer, experts agree. But a new study finds that the sometimes-deadly skin cancer melanoma usually arises in normal skin, where there is no dark spot or sign of cancer until the melanoma suddenly shows up. 
 
 Moreover, melanomas that arise in non-mole areas of the skin tend to be more aggressive and deadly than those that do arise from moles, the study found. 
 
 "We find that the ones without a [mole] appear to be more aggressive," said Dr. David Polsky, the study's lead researcher and a professor of dermatology, pathology and dermatologic oncology at New York University School of Medicine. "We think that there are biological differences" between melanomas that develop within moles and those that develop elsewhere on the skin, and it's possible that these differences underlie the difference in aggressiveness, he said. [10 Do's and Don'ts to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer] 
 
 Further research into the differences between mole and non-mole melanomas could lead researchers to develop better treatments for the cancer, he said. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 74,000 people in the United States will be diagnosed with melanoma during 2015, and about 10,000 people in the country will die of the disease this year. 
 
 In the new study, the scientists looked at 2,250 people with melanoma. They noted the type of melanoma each person had (whether it was mole-related or nonmole-related), and examined factors such as the person's age, the location of the melanoma on the body, tumor thickness, stage of the disease and survival rate. (Not all marks on the skin are moles. The naked eye cannot always spot the differences among a regular mole, a mole that has developed into melanoma, and another mark on the skin that is a melanoma, but experts who look at the cells under a microscope can tell the difference.) 
 
 People whose melanomas did not arise from moles (called de novo melanomas) tended to do worse than people with mole-associated melanoma, the researchers said in their findings, presented June 1 at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting. 
 
 In general, between 20 and 30 percent of melanomas are mole-associated, but the majority of melanoma cases are de novo cases — they arise in skin that looks normal until the melanoma forms. 
 
 The people with de novo melanomas had poorer outcomes than those with melanomas from moles, the researchers said. They were 2.35 times more likely to have cancer that had advanced beyond stage 1 at the time of diagnosis. About 75 percent of people with mole-associated melanoma survived for 10 years after their diagnosis, compared with 60 percent of de novo melanoma patients. 
 
 A photo of intermediate melanoma. Credit: Skin Cancer Foundation 
 
 It was already known that melanomas are more aggressive if the tumor is thick, or if the skin is broken or uneven because of the tumor, Polsky said. In the new study, the researchers found that the de novo melanomas were more often associated with these signs of being more aggressive than melanomas that formed in moles were, he told Live Science. 
 
 For instance, the researchers found that people with de novo melanomas were about twice as likely to have tumors considered to be thick, and 1.6 times as likely to have broken or uneven skin, compared with people who had mole-related melanomas. 
 
 The people with de novo melanoma also tended to be older — the average age of those with de novo melanoma was 54, compared with 47 for those with mole-associated melanoma. De novo melanoma was also more likely to occur on people's arms, legs, head or neck than on the chest, abdomen or back, the researchers noted. 
 
 Interestingly, women with melanoma usually have a better survival rate than men with the condition (it's not well understood why), Polsky said. But the new study found that, although women tend to outlive men in cases of de novo melanoma, the two sexes actually have equal survival rates for mole-associated melanoma. [Top 10 Anti-Cancer Foods] 
 
 That finding "opens a whole lot of questions of what the biological differences might be between these two types of melanomas. It's very exciting to have some new questions to investigate," Polsky said. 
 
 If doctors recognize and treat melanoma in its early stages, the disease is often curable, according to the advocacy group the Skin Cancer Foundation. However, untreated melanomas can advance and spread throughout the body, becoming harder to treat and even fatal, the foundation said. 
 
 Both children and young adults often get new moles as they age, and Polsky said people should seek medical attention if they notice an odd-looking mole or lesion on their skin that wasn't there before, or that has changed over time. He recommended using the ABCDE method: Check if spots or growths are asymmetrical, have uneven borders, are dual-colored, are large in diameter or are evolving (changing) over time. 
 
 "Most new spots are benign, but they should be checked out if they're changing in their appearance persistently over four to six weeks," Polsky said. 
 
 Follow Laura Geggel on Twitter @LauraGeggel. Follow Live Science @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on Live Science.
– This year will see almost 10,000 deaths in the US from melanoma, with nearly 74,000 new cases diagnosed. But most skin cancers, including melanoma, are curable if caught and treated early, which is why doctors are anxious to ID them ASAP. Researchers at King's College London say they've found a way to simplify counting one of the disease's prime markers—moles on the body—by using a "proxy site" that would allow physicians to more quickly pinpoint individuals who might need follow-up. Instead of going through the laborious process of counting moles on the entire body, doctors can count moles on the right arm, then use that figure to extrapolate to the number of moles on the body overall, per a press release. And there's a specific number that could serve as a warning sign: Find more than 11 moles on that arm, and your risk of melanoma could be higher. Researchers looked at data from nearly 4,000 female Caucasian twins who were studied between 1995 and 2003. They counted the number of moles on 17 body sites and found women who had at least seven moles on their right arm were nine times more likely to have at least 50 moles all over their body, and that when they had more than 11 moles on their right arm, they were likely to have more than 100 moles—signifying "a drastically increased risk of skin cancer," per Live Science. The scientists then replicated the link between arm mole count and total body mole count using another study that included both males and females. "The findings could have a significant impact for primary care, allowing GPs to more accurately estimate the total number of moles in a patient extremely quickly via an easily accessible body part," the study's lead author says. Two other proxy sites that may prompt a doctor visit: above the right elbow and the legs. (Downing a few cups of joe may help fend off malignant melanoma.)