Association between levodopa administration and melanoma: A systematic review

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease and levodopa is the main drug used in the treatment of this disease. A study conducted in Denmark demonstrated a two-fold higher incidence of malignant melanoma in patients with Parkinson's, but no correlation was found between levodopa treatment and this incidence. The present systematic review used search engines such as pubmed and Google academic to search for articles of the clinical and randomized trial type. The results of the systematic review indicate a complexity in the relationship between levodopa administration, Parkinson's disease, and melanoma risk. The evidence reviewed suggests that levodopa does not appear to be a significant causal factor in the development of melanoma in patients with Parkinson's disease. Despite the problems raised, the well-established therapeutic benefits of levodopa in the management of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease continue to outweigh the potential risk of causing melanoma. The study concludes that there is an increased risk of developing melanoma in patients with Parkinson's disease but that there is no evidence of a causal role of levodopa in increasing this risk or accelerating its growth