A study has shown that counting the number of moles on your arm could indicate if you will have a form of cancer.
Research showed that having more than 11 moles on one arm indicates a higher-than-average risk of skin cancer or melanoma.
The number of moles on the right arm was accepted as a good indicator of total moles on the body.
A person who has as many as 100 moles or more would be five times more likely to have skin cancer in their lifetime.
Over 3,000 twins were studied in the research, published in the British Journal of Dermatology.
The study said that GPs could use the results to identify those most at risk.
Melanoma is a type of skin cancer affecting more than 13,000 people in the UK each year.
It develops from abnormal moles, so the risk of being diagnosed with a melanoma is linked to the number of moles a patient has.
Researchers from King’s College London studied a large group of female twins over a period of eight years, collecting information on skin type, freckles and moles on their bodies.
After repeating the exercise on a smaller group of around 400 men and women with melanoma, they came up with a quick and easy way to assess the risk of skin cancer.
