Paradox in melanoma: more patients fewer publications.

Abstract

The incidence of melanoma has increased more dramatically than any other malignancy in the last years. In this study, we compared the numbers of publications between melanoma and other cancers over the last 20 years, and we aimed to understand the relationship between publications on melanoma and other cancers using publication rates and frequencies. We conducted a systematic search through PubMed using search terms 'melanoma' and 'cancer' to identify the numbers of publications on melanoma and other cancers. The numbers and life-time risk rates of both melanoma and other cancer patients over the years were obtained from 'Cancer Statistics' articles published annually by American Cancer Society. Both melanoma and other cancer related publications increased in number steadily at the same rate (3.01 times) and the ratio of melanoma-related publications to all cancer publications has not changed over the years: around 3.4% on average. The rates of melanoma increased more rapidly than those of other cancers; 2.02 and 1.44 times, respectively. Similarly, the incidence of melanoma among all malignancies has increased from 3.91 to 5.47%. The lifetime risk of developing cancer has stayed stable at around 40%, whereas the lifetime risk of developing melanoma has increased by 2.12 times over the years, from 1.47 to 3.1%. In conclusion, the increase in the melanoma-related publication numbers has failed short to meet the dramatic increment of melanoma patient numbers. We believe that more publications are required according to the rising incidence of the disease.