Melanoma Incidence, Mortality On The Rise

Melanoma incidence and mortality is on the rise, according to a research letter published online by JAMA Dermatology.

An estimated 76,380 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2016, and the incidence rates per 100,000 population have grown from 22.2 in 2009 to 23.6 in 2016, researchers led by Alex M. Glazer, M.D., of the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine in New York, point out.

The current lifetime risk of an American developing invasive melanoma is 1 in 54 compared with 1 in 58 in 2009, the study showed. Risk of early stage in situ melanoma has risen from 1 in 78 in 2009 to 1 in 58 now. The lifetime risk of being diagnosed with invasive or in situ melanoma is now 1 in 28, they write.The current estimate is that 10,130 Americans will die from melanoma in 2016, up from 8,650 in 2009.

“The overall burden of disease for melanoma is increasing and rising rates are not simply artifact owing to increased detection of indolent disease,” the article concludes.