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Melanoma Incidence and Mortality

Melanoma accounts for three-fourths of skin cancer deaths, and the lifetime risk for melanoma is estimated to be 1 in 75 by the year 2000. This epidemiological study calculated incidence and mortality rates of melanoma among Caucasians from 1973 to 1994 using data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Cancer Institute. The analysis included 116,055 melanoma deaths and excluded in situ lesions.

From 1973 to 1994, melanoma incidence and mortality increased 120% and 39%, respectively. In 1994, the mortality rate was twice as high among men than women. From 1973 to 1977, melanoma incidence increased 26% for men and 22% for women, but from 1990 to 1994, the incidence increased only 6.8% for men and actually decreased by 1.3% for women. Incidence rates stabilized or decreased from 1990 to 1994 among women younger than 60 years and men younger than 50 years, while the rates continued to rise for older men and women. The largest increases in incidence for men and women were for melanomas on the trunk.

Comment: While melanoma incidence and mortality are still increasing, the rate of increase is rapidly slowing, especially among women born since 1930 and men born since 1940. This slowdown among younger patients is probably due to reduced cumulative and intermittent exposure to intense ultraviolet light. The threefold greater increase in incidence over mortality suggests that melanoma lesions are now being diagnosed and treated at a thinner stage than in the past.

— GJ Hruza

Published in Journal Watch Dermatology February 1, 1999

Citation(s):

Hall HI et al. Update on the incidence and mortality from melanoma in the United States. J Am Acad Dermatol 1999 40 35-42.

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