Incidence of Melanoma in Catalonia, Spain, Is Rapidly Increasing in the Elderly Population. A Multicentric Cohort Study

Sebastián Podlipnik ,Joan Dalmau ,Mireia Sàbat ,J.r Ferreres ,Carola Baliu-Piqué ,Pedro Zaballos ,Aram Boada ,Sònia Segura ,D Bodet ,Josep Malvehy ,Rosa M Martí ,Joaquím Fernández Solà ,Paola Pasquali ,Cristina Carrera ,N Curcó ,Mònica Quintana ,M Formigón ,Nina A Richarz ,Antoni Azón-Masoliver ,María Rosa Olivella-Garcés ,M Alegre ,Joaquim Marcoval ,Loida Galvany ,Susana Puig

doi:10.3390/jcm9113396

Abstract

The incidence of melanoma has been increasing worldwide during recent decades. The objective of the study was to analyse the trends in incidence for in situ and invasive melanoma in the Spanish region of Catalonia during the period of 2008–2017. We designed a cross-sectional study with an age-period-cohort analysis of melanoma patient data from the Network of Melanoma Centres in Catalonia. Our database covered a population of over seven million and included a total of 8626 patients with incident melanoma. The main outcome measures were crude and age-standardised incidence rates to the European 2013 standard population. Joinpoint regression models were used to evaluate the population trends. We observed an increase in the age-standardised incidence rate (per 100,000 population) of all melanoma subtypes from 11.56 in 2008 to 13.78 in 2017 with an average annual percent change (AAPC) of 3.5%. This incidence increase was seen exclusively in the older population. Moreover, the stratified analysis showed a statistically significant increase in the age-standardised incidence rate for invasive (AAPC 2.1%) and in situ melanoma (AAPC 6.5%). In conclusion, the incidence of melanoma has continued to increase in the elderly population over recent decades, with a rapidly increasing trend of in situ melanomas and the lentigo maligna subtype.

Highlights

Melanoma is responsible for 1%–2% of all cancers worldwide and accounts for only 5% of all malignant skin tumours
During the study period of 2008 to 2017, we identified a total of 8753 new cases of melanoma in the Catalonian region, of which 2896 were in situ and 5857 invasive
Between 2008 and 2017, there was a significant increase in the age-standardised incidence rate of melanoma per 100,000 population/year from 11.56 in 2008 to 13.78 in 2017

Summary

Introduction

Melanoma is responsible for 1%–2% of all cancers worldwide and accounts for only 5% of all malignant skin tumours. Recent data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) registry indicate that the incidence of melanoma is rapidly increasing, especially in older patients [10]. What it is even more worrying is the fact that there has been an increase in the incidence of melanoma in young adults, especially women between 25 and 39 years of age, often with high associated mortality [12]

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Conclusion