We excluded 49 articles for the following reasons: duplicate populations (N = 20), no data on outcome (case/control status or any of the studied phenotypic characteristics) or on MC1R variants (N = 12), case reports, commentaries or reviews (N = 6), GWAS (N = 6), populations selected for genetic factors (N = 4) and multiple primary melanoma cases only (N = 1). This evidence concerns the gene MC1R and melanoma.