Mortality and fatality of cutaneous malignant melanoma in Sweden, 1982–1986

Abstract

Among almost all cases of death from cutaneous malignant melanoma in Sweden during the 5-year observation period of 1982–1986 ( n = 1406), 58.5% were male. For both sexes, considered together, 80.5% were aged > 49 yr at the time of death; 62.9% aged > 59 yr,. and 36.7% aged > 69 yr. Disease fatality, assessed as the sex and age-specific mortality between 1982 and 1986 in proportion to the age and sex-specific incidence in 1977 and 1982, increased significantly ( P < 0.001) with age in both sexes, in terms of distributional heterogeneity. Likewise, in both sexes, disease fatality was higher ( P < 0.025) in the area of Sweden north of the N 60° latitude line rather than south of it. As it is a crucial measure of treatment efficacy in cutaneous malignant melanoma, case fatality deserves more attention in future epidemiologic research than it has received to-date. In this context, a revision of the criteria for histopathological “malignancy” at initial treatment against empirical data on the outcome quoad vitam is warranted. malignant melanoma / mortality / fatality