Nathanael R. Fillmore
Publications / 2026
paper
Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology2026doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2026.02.086

Risk and protective factors for uveal melanoma: Evidence for a protective role of autoimmune and immune-mediated conditions.

Charles Lu†, Debby Cheng†, Andrew Mu, Olivia Burke, Lirit Fuksman, Priya Katyal, Sara Khattab, Nga Nguyen, Emma Beagles, Crystal Chang, Suzanne Xu, Jonathan C. Hwang, Linden Huhmann, Nicholas Starink, Martin A. Weinstock, Maryam M. Asgari, Marc S. Hurlbert, John M. Gaziano, Nathanael R. Fillmore, Rebecca I. Hartman, Yevgeniy R. Semenov

† Equal first authorship

Summary

Patients with systemic or cutaneous autoimmune and immune-mediated conditions have a significantly lower risk of developing uveal melanoma. These findings suggest that a heightened baseline immune state may help the body overcome the eye's natural immune privilege to detect and eliminate early cancerous cells.

Key result

Prior cutaneous autoimmune and immune-mediated disease was associated with a reduced risk of uveal melanoma compared with cutaneous melanoma (odds ratio [OR] 0.25; 95% CI 0.13-0.47) and non-cancer controls (OR 0.33; 95% CI 0.16-0.67).

Key figure

Key figure from Risk and protective factors for uveal melanoma: Evidence for a protective role of autoimmune and immune-mediated conditions.