Melanoma and Mastocytosis

There are numerous cases reports and studies confirming the enhanced incidence of melanoma among patients with mastocytosis, especially with systemic mastocytosis. These two diseases are arising from two different types of cells; melanoma arises from neural crest cells and mastocytosis from hematopoietic stem cells. But there are a lot of similarities between the two diseases. The most important and significant is the dependence of the growth factor receptor c-KIT and c-KIT ligand (stem cell factor) for their growth and development. Also, expression of the STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) and transcription factors MITF (microphthalmia-associated transcription factor) make the connection between melanoma and mastocytosis.