In the current study, we evaluated the possible associations of seven common 
variants of the DNA repair and cell cycle control genes BRCA2 and CHEK2 with 
malignant melanoma (MM). We genotyped 630 unselected MM patients and over 3700 
controls (newborns, age- and sex-matched healthy adults with negative cancer 
family histories, and the adults selected at random by family doctors) for the 
prevalence of three common variants of the BRCA2 (T1915M, N991D and N372H) and 
four common variants of the CHEK2 (1100delC, VS2+1G --> A, I157T and del5395). 
Our study strongly suggests that the common variant of the BRCA2 gene -- the 
N991D variant is associated with malignant melanoma risk (OR=1.8, p=0.002 after 
Bonferroni correction). Patients homozygote for the N991D variant were present 
in 0.32% of cases and only 0.13% of controls. The other variants studied were 
not over-represented among MM patients when compared to the general population. 
In conclusion, we report an increased melanoma risk among carriers of the N991D 
change of the BRCA2 and no association of the CHEK2 changes with malignant 
melanoma.