Today one in 135 whites can expect to develop melanoma at some point.

Blacks and Asians also develop melanoma, although at a much lower rate than do fair-skinned whites.

But their presence is a warning of an inherited tendency to develop melanoma.

However, research has shown that people with certain melanoma risk factors are more likely than others to develop melanoma.

Rarely, however, in some families many generations and multiple individuals develop melanoma and are at much higher risk.

Older men are twice as likely to develop melanoma as women of the same age.

People with outdoor jobs are less likely to develop melanoma than indoor workers who experience intense sun exposure on their days off.

Several studies have concluded that people who recalled having had blistering sunburns were more likely to develop melanoma.

But you do not have to be a sunbather to develop melanoma.

Those with lots of moles of an unusual size, shape or color also are more likely to develop melanoma.