Updates from the British Association of Dermatologists 82nd Annual Meeting, 9-12 July 2002, Edinburgh, U.K.

Abstract

The objective of this article is to provide a synopsis of the main research and clinical findings presented at the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) Meeting held on 9–12 July 2002, Edinburgh, U.K. The conference reflected the progress that has been made in understanding the increasing biological, epidemiological and therapeutic advances that have been made recently in the field of dermatology. The more important advances or summaries are highlighted by the author, but this is not meant to be substitute for reading the conference proceedings and the related references quoted in this article. The 82nd Annual Meeting of the BAD ‘kicked off’, appropriately for a Scottish venue, with a highly lucid overview by Prof. Rona MacKie, of new findings from the melanoma group in Scotland. In a study looking at 8830 melanomas diagnosed in Scotland between 1979 and 1998, it was noted that for men there had been a 300% increase and for women a 187% increase in the incidence of melanoma.1 The rate of increase had been greatest in the 1980s but had slowed in the 1990s. For men, lesions on the trunk rose most sharply, while for women the rise was greatest on the leg. For both sexes the rise was greatest in tumours < 1·5 mm thick. Mortality for melanoma over the study period showed no significant rise for men and a small decrease for women. The relative survival rates have improved, when compared with other cancers.