Increase In Incidence Of Melanoma Research Articles

Increasing melanoma incidence with unchanged mortality: more sunshine, better treatment, increased diagnostic activity, overdiagnosis or lowered diagnostic threshold?

Increasing melanoma incidence with less increasing mortality is observed in several countries. This discrepancy is not well understood. In this study, our aim was to discuss factors (UV exposure, melanoma treatment, diagnostic activity, overdiagnosis, pathologists' diagnostic threshold and clinicians' propensity to remove suspect skin lesions) that may influence melanoma incidence and mortality in Denmark. This was a register study with the number of melanocyte-related lesions and melanoma mortality based on comprehensive national pathology and mortality databases for the period 1999-2019. We investigated melanocyte-related diagnoses and mortality in a population of 5.5 million with national health care system. Age adjusted melanoma mortality and age-adjusted incidence of benign nevi, atypical lesion, or melanoma-in-situ and of invasive melanoma were computed for data analysis. In total 1,434,798 biopsies were taken from 704,682 individuals (65% female). Mean age at biopsy was 39.8 years in men and 37.6 in women. In men and women, the incidence of invasive melanoma increased by 87% during the period 1999-2011. During the subsequent period it increased by 9% in men but remained unchanged in women. The incidence of melanoma in-situ increased by 476% in men and 357% in women during the study period, while the increases for atypical melanocytic lesions were 1928% and 1686%, respectively. Biopsy rates increased by 153% in men and 118% in women from 1999 through 2011 but fell by 20% in men and 22% in women during the subsequent period. Mortality varied slightly from year to year without any significant time trend for men or women.We identified no evidence of increased UV exposure over the latest 30 years in Denmark. Immunotherapy of advanced melanoma was introduced in Denmark in 2010 and came in general use in 2014. Comprehensive national data demonstrate increasing melanoma incidence correlated with increasing biopsy rates, but with no change in mortality. Previously suggested explanations for such a trend are lowered threshold of melanoma diagnosis among pathologists, increased diagnostic activity in the presence of overdiagnosis and improved melanoma treatment. Because the study is observational and because we have more explanatory factors than outcomes, the findings do not warrant conclusions about causal relationships.

White horses - non-coding sequences drive premature hair greying and predisposition to melanoma.

The Grey allele in horses is causing premature hair greying and susceptibility to melanoma. The causal mutation is a 4.6 kb tandem duplication in intron 6 of the Syntaxin 17 gene. A recent study demonstrated that the most common allele at the Grey locus (G3) involves three tandem copies of this sequence, whilst a more rare allele (G2) has two tandem copies and the wild-type allele (G1) only one copy. The G3 allele is causing fast greying and high incidence of skin melanoma, whereas the G2 allele is causing slow greying and no obvious increase in melanoma incidence. Further somatic copy number expansion has been documented in melanoma tissue from Grey horses. Functional studies showed that this intronic sequence acts as a weak melanocyte-specific enhancer that becomes substantially stronger by the copy number expansion. The Grey mutation is associated with upregulated expression of both Syntaxin 17 and the neighbouring NR4A3 gene in Grey horse melanomas. It is still an open question which of these genes is most important for the phenotypic effects or if causality is due to the combined effect of upregulation of both genes. Interestingly, RNAseq data in the Human Protein Atlas give support for a possible role of NR4A3 because it is particularly upregulated in human skin cancer, and it belongs to a cluster of genes associated with skin cancer and melanin biosynthesis. The Grey mutation and its association with melanoma provide a possibility to study the path to tumour development in numerous Grey horses carrying exactly the same predisposing mutation.

Determining the core content of a digital survivorship care plan for melanoma survivors: a multistakeholder Delphi consensus study.

Increasing melanoma incidence and improved survival emphasize the importance of survivorship care plans (SCPs). We conducted a multistakeholder Delphi study to achieve consensus on core melanoma SCP content. Of the 44 potential elements, 24 (55%) reached consensus for inclusion. Notably, melanoma survivors and healthcare providers differed in their preferences, with survivors prioritizing coordination improvements and healthcare providers emphasizing psychosocial care. Exploring and overcoming these differences in opinions and including the consented elements as a basis in the design of the SCP can facilitate its implementation in practice and lead to survivorship care tailored to stakeholders’ needs.

Increasing melanoma incidence and survival trend shifts with improved melanoma-specific survival between 1990and 2020 in Sweden.

Melanoma-specific survival (MSS) is heterogenous between stages and is highly dependent on the T stage for primary localized disease. New systemic therapies for metastatic cutaneous melanoma (CM) have been introduced since 2012 in Sweden. To analyse the incidence and MSS time trends between 1990 and 2020 in Sweden. Nationwide, population-based and prospectively collected clinico-pathological data on invasive CM from the Swedish Melanoma Registry (SweMR) were analysed for survival trends between 1990 and 2020 using Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazard ratios (HRs). In total, 77 036 primary invasive CMs were diagnosed in 70 511 patients in Sweden between 1990 and 2020. The 5-year MSS [95% confidence interval (CI)] was 88.9% (88.3-89.4) for 1990-2000, 89.2% (88.7-89.6) for 2001-2010 and 93.0% (92.7-93.9) for 2011-2020. The odds ratios for being diagnosed with nodular melanoma (vs. superficial spreading melanoma) was significantly reduced by 20% (2001-2010) and by 46% (2011-2020)vs. the reference period 1990-2000. Overall, the MSS improved over both diagnostic periods (2001-2010 and 2011-2020) vs. the reference period 1990-2000 among men and women, respectively [HRmen: 2001-2010: 0.89 (95% CI 0.82-0.96) and 2011-2020: 0.62 (95% CI 0.56-0.67); HRwomen: 2001-2010: 0.82 (95% CI 0.74-0.91) and 2011-2020: 0.62 (95% CI 0.56-0.70)]. The risk of death from CM was significantly lower in all age groups for both men and women in the most recent diagnostic period (2011-2020 vs.1990-2000). The results emphasize the improved MSS among men and women in Sweden. The MSS improvements, specifically for the period 2011-2020, may be correlated to the introduction of new systemic therapies and are here shown for the first time in detail for Sweden.

Cutaneous Melanoma: Sheep in Wolves Clothing?

Cutaneous melanoma incidence in European-origin populations has risen steeply, however, mortality has not, as 73 years of Danish cancer data strikingly show. It has been suggested that such divergent trends in the US are due to overdiagnosis from increasing diagnostic scrutiny and lowering diagnostic threshold. Alternatively, the increase in melanoma incidence may be largely due to increased sun exposure, which would imply that most of these new, sun-caused, melanomas are non-lethal. Consistent with this hypothesis, Icelandic data show an increase in melanoma incidence, predominantly in young women (<50 years), which paralleled increasing sunbed use that remitted after a campaign against sunbeds. Meanwhile, melanoma mortality in young people remained virtually zero. The increase in mortality was mainly in the elderly (>50 years) and dictated by year of birth. This transient excess of melanoma in young people is most likely attributable to skin burns from sunbeds which, like sunburns, carry a high risk of melanoma. High exposure of naevi to UV radiation can induce transient clinical and pathological features of melanoma, which might explain some of the apparent rise in incidence. Ways of distinguishing non-lethal from potentially lethal thin melanomas are sorely needed.

Long-term time trends in incidence, survival, and mortality of malignant melanoma in the United States.

e21599 Background: While there have been newer treatments that were developed in the last decade for metastatic melanoma, there is lack of data that directly looks at survival in melanoma before and after introduction of these new agents. We tried to explore the epidemiology of malignant melanoma including incidence to look at the trends of its incidence, survival and mortality in different groups over the last two decades. Methods: Data was obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER Research Data, 18 Registries from 2000-2018) and data was cleaned and analyzed in STATA 16. 363,517 records were included in analysis from which baseline characteristics and median were obtained for survival time and survival analysis was done by Cox regression method to compare survival time between different groups. Pearson correlation was calculated to look for association between survival time and Breslow thickness. Results: Mean age group was 55-64 years, with 58% males and 42% females. 95% were White, 0.43% were Black, 0.63% were Asian and 3.79% were other races. 87% were localized, whereas 13% were metastatic. Mean Breslow thickness was 1.27mm (1.26-1.28). Overall median survival time was 62 months for malignant melanoma and 27 months for metastatic malignant melanoma. 42.63% were diagnosed before 2009 and 57.37% were diagnosed from 2009 to 2018. Cumulative incidence rate of melanoma increased from 4.78 to 6.57 per 100,000 persons whereas mortality rate increased from 0.29 to 2.23 per 100,000 persons from years 2000 to 2012 respectively. With contrast to age below 65, patients with age 65 and above had lower survival time (HR 4.78 95% CI 4.71-4.85, p &lt; 0.01). There seemed to be an increase in incidence of melanoma among patients above 65 compared to below 65. When compared to males, females had significantly higher survival time (HR 0.62 95% CI 0.61-0.63, p &lt; 0.01). Similarly, when compared to White population, Black and Asian population had lower survival time (HR 2.27 95% CI 2.11-2.43, p &lt; 0.01 &amp; HR 1.57 95% CI 1.14-1.68, p &gt; 0.01) respectively. Comparing to localized disease, both regional and distant involvement had significantly lower survival time (HR 3.21 95% CI 3.15-3.28, p &lt; 0.01 &amp; HR 11.34 95% CI 11.07-11.61, p &lt; 0.01) respectively. Breslow thickness had a negative correlation with survival months [regression coefficient (R) of -2.21 p &lt; 0.01 (95% CI -2.35 to -2.07)]. Compared to patients who died before 2012, patients who died in 2012 or after had significantly better survival (HR 0.46, 95% CI 0.46-0.47, p &lt; 0.01). Conclusions: Both, the incidence, and mortality of melanoma are rising, with more increase in age above 65 years. There appears to be an improvement in survival among patients who died after 2012, which may be an indirect indicator of the effectiveness of newer therapies. Risk factors for lower survival time were male sex, Black &amp; Asian race, metastatic disease, and higher Breslow thickness.

Melanoma mortality rate trend in an era of effective treatments: A retrospective study, 1975-2019.

e21555 Background: Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US. Among all skin cancer cases, melanoma represents only about 1%, but it causes most of the deaths due to skin cancer. Unfortunately, the incidence of melanoma has increased over the last three decades. In the past decade, new and effective therapies for melanoma have emerged, with FDA-approval of multiple checkpoint inhibitors (such as PD-1 inhibitors and CTLA4 inhibitors), and multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting v-raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF) mutated melanoma. The aim of this study is to review mortality trends in melanoma since the FDA-approval of these agents. Methods: Long term age adjusted cutaneous Melanoma Mortality Rate (MMR) trends in the United States were reviewed and evaluated using data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program from 1975 to 2019. The Annual Percent Change (APC) with 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value has been used to report long term trends. APC has been calculated using Joinpoint regression. Results: The MMR was found to be increased during 1975-1988 (APC 1.65%; p &lt; 0.01). No statistically significant change in MMR was seen during 1988-2013 (APC 0.01%; p = 0.85). MMR was significantly decreased during 2013-2017 (APC -6.24%, p &lt; 0.01). No statistically significant decrease has been seen during 2017-2019 (APC -1.56%, p = 0.53); however, there is a downward trend. Conclusions: This SEER database retrospective review of MMR provides the insight into change in long term mortality trends for melanoma in the United States. During 1975-2019, the MMR first increased, then stabilized and then decreased. After introduction of checkpoint inhibitors in 2011 and TKIs in 2013, significant reduction in melanoma mortality rate (MMR) was seen during 2013-2017 in the United States, even in the setting of increasing melanoma incidence. This likely reflects a benefit from the availability of effective therapies in the last decade. These treatment options are now also approved for use in the adjuvant setting, primarily after 2017. It will be interesting to see if a further significant reduction in MMR will be seen. It may also be worthwhile to study real-world population trends in other cancers where similar treatments have been found to be effective in recent years.[Table: see text]

Response to Harms et al.

We are grateful for the opportunity to reply to the commentary by Harms et al. (2022) about our recent article. An Epidemiologic Analysis of Melanoma Overdiagnosis in the United States, 1975–2017Journal of Investigative DermatologyVol. 142Issue 7PreviewThe primary cause of the increase in melanoma incidence in the United States has been suggested to be overdiagnosis. We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result Program data from 1975 to 2017 to examine epidemiologic trends of melanoma incidence and mortality and better characterize overdiagnosis in white Americans. Over the 43-year period, incidence and mortality showed discordant temporal changes across population subgroups; trends most suggestive of overdiagnosis alone were present in females aged 55–74. Full-Text PDF

An Epidemiologic Analysis of Melanoma Overdiagnosis in the United States, 1975–2017

The primary cause of the increase in melanoma incidence in the United States has been suggested to be overdiagnosis. We used Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Result Program data from 1975 to 2017 to examine epidemiologic trends of melanoma incidence and mortality and better characterize overdiagnosis in white Americans. Over the 43-year period, incidence and mortality showed discordant temporal changes across population subgroups; trends most suggestive of overdiagnosis alone were present in females aged 55-74. Other groups showed mixed changes suggestive of overdiagnosis plus changes in underlying disease risk (decreasing risk in younger individuals and increasing risk in older males). Cohort effects were identified for male and female mortality and male incidence but were not as apparent for female incidence, suggesting that period effects have had a greater influence on changes in incidence over time in females. Encouraging trends included long-term declines in mortality in younger individuals and recent stabilization of invasive incidence in individuals aged 15-44 years and males aged 45-54 years. Melanoma in situ incidence, however, has continued to increase throughout the population. Overdiagnosis appears to be relatively greater in American females and for melanoma in situ.

The Effect of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Patients with Concomitant Advanced Melanoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI's) have revolutionized the management of patients with advanced melanoma (AM). However, the data on the effectiveness of ICI's has been largely restricted to patients on clinical trials, thus excluding patients with second malignancies. Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent adult leukemia and is associated immune dysregulation and a 3.8 fold increase in melanoma incidence. We report a multi-center, retrospective case-control study examining differences between patients who received checkpoint therapy in the context of the dual diagnoses of CLL and advanced melanoma (n = 20) compared to those with advanced melanoma alone (n = 154).Prognostic features for AM (including age, brain metastasis, visceral involvement, LDH and neutrophil count) were comparable between the two cohorts, however absolute lymphocyte count (ALC) was higher in CLL patients (p <0.0001) as anticipated. 3/20 of the CLL cohort experienced haematological autoimmune adverse events (AIHA, ITP, HLH), which necessitated cessation of ICI therapy; these events were not reported in the non-CLL cohort.There was not a significant difference between response rates to ICI's, 1-year survival or overall survival between CLL and non-CLL cohorts (Fig 1A). All recorded mortality (8/8) in the CLL cohort was attributable to AM progression or complications of ICI therapy rather than progressive CLL. The most significant predictor of survival in CLL cohort was prior exposure to fludarabine which showed a significantly shorter OS (median 2.3 vs 29.23 months, HR 7.406, p < 0.0001) than those who had not (Fig 1B).This cohort also offers a unique opportunity to observe the effects of ICI therapy on the progression of CLL. To our knowledge, this is the largest reported cohort of CLL patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors to date. The diagnosis of CLL pre-dated the diagnosis of AM in 18/20 cases. 5 cases had required prior treatment for CLL, while the remaining 15 cases were under observation alone. All 20 cases were Stage 0-1 according to the Rai classification at the time of melanoma diagnosis and no cases demonstrated a transformation to an aggressive subtype. 0/20 cases experienced a haematological response of their CLL while on ICI therapy and 6/20 cases progressed clinically either on the basis of tumour burden or absolute lymphocyte count within 12 months of ICI therapy (Fig 1C).This retrospective data demonstrates that ICI's have equivalent therapeutic efficacy in AM in patient with concurrent CLL This was unexpected as it was anticipated that the immune dysregulation associated with CLL would impair the ICI-mediated anti melanoma immunological response. The exception to this trend, was the poor efficacy of ICI's in patients with prior fludarabine exposure, presumably owing to the profound T cell depletion associated with this therapy. Additionally, ICI therapy alone appears ineffective in the management of CLL in keeping with recent phase II trial data. [Display omitted] DisclosuresGill:Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel expenses.

Epidemiology of cutaneous melanoma and keratinocyte cancer in white populations 1943–2036

ObjectivesCutaneous melanoma (CM) and keratinocyte cancer (KC) cause considerable morbidity and mortality. We analysed long-term trends of CM and KC in different white populations. Material and methodsAge-standardised (European Standard Population 2013) incidence and mortality rates (ASIR, ASMR) of CM were extracted from cancer registries in Denmark, New Zealand and the US SEER-Database. ASIRs of KC were sourced from registries of the German federal states Saarland and Schleswig–Holstein, and from Scotland. Age-period-cohort models were used to project melanoma incidence trends. ResultsIn Denmark between 1943 and 2016, melanoma ASIR increased from 1.1 to 46.5 in males, and from 1.0 to 48.5 in females, estimated to reach 60.0 and 73.1 in males and females by 2036. Melanoma mortality in Denmark (1951–2016) increased from 1.4 to 6.7 (males) and 1.2 to 3.7 (females). In New Zealand between 1948 and 2016, ASIR increased from 2.7 to 81.0 (males) and from 3.8 to 54.7 (females), slight declines are estimated by 2036 for both genders. Melanoma mortality increased six-fold in New Zealand males between 1950 and 2016; smaller increases were observed in females. We observed three- to four-fold increases in melanoma incidence in US whites, predicted to rise to 56.1 and 36.2 in males and females until 2036. Melanoma mortality also increased among US whites between 1970 and 2017, female melanoma mortality remained stable. Similar trends are shown for KC. ConclusionsIn white populations, incidence of CM and KC significantly increased. CM incidence continues to rise in the short term but is predicted to decline in future.

Cancer incidence and mortality in the USA Astronaut Corps, 1959–2017

ObjectivesCancer incidence and mortality are important outcomes in the surveillance of long-term astronaut health. We compare cancer incidence rates, cancer-specific mortality rates, and cancer case-fatality ratios in US astronauts with...

Impact of rurality on melanoma diagnosis in Utah.

Aim:To analyze trends in Utah melanoma diagnosis and study the impact of rurality.Patients & methods:State-wide melanoma incidence was calculated using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data (2005–2013). A subset of 5199 patients treated in an integrated healthcare system was further stratified for urban or rural residence.Results:Early-stage tumors accounted for most of the increase in melanoma incidence over time. Age-adjusted melanoma incidence rate was higher in rural counties (46.7 vs 39.4). Anatomic site and stage did not differ between rural and urban patients. Rural patients were more commonly diagnosed by a local primary care provider.Conclusion:Rurality had an impact on melanoma diagnosis in the specialty and location of the diagnosing provider.

Association between melanoma and exposure to sex hormones in puberty: A possible window of susceptibility (Review)

The risk factors for melanoma in adolescents are similar to those in adults; however, it remains unclear whether these risk factors are also associated with melanoma in children. Epidemiological studies in the literature have reported a logarithmic increase in melanoma incidence after the age of 10 years. This may, in part, reflect the acute and chronic exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation during childhood. However, it appears unlikely that the cumulative exposure to UV radiation alone could explain such a sharp increase in melanoma incidence at the beginning of adolescence. It has been suggested that circulating sex hormones, the levels of which increase during puberty, may play a role in melanoma initiation and progression in predisposed individuals through binding to specific sex steroid receptors. The association between a longer cumulative exposure to sex hormones and the risk of melanoma may be supported by the reported epidemiological association between melanoma and several other sex hormone-related types of cancer, such as breast and prostate cancer, in which the enhanced exposure to androgens and estrogens was found to be directly associated with pubertal onset. Therefore, determining the association between pubertal onset and melanoma development may improve the current understanding of melanoma pathophysiology.

Trends in Melanoma Mortality in Brazil: A Registry-Based Study.

PURPOSEA substantial increase in melanoma incidence has been consistently observed worldwide over the past decades. However, melanoma mortality rates have remained stable or declined over the past years in most regions. Given the paucity of melanoma mortality data for different Brazilian regions, we sought to describe melanoma mortality trends in southeastern Brazil and their relationship with demographic variables.MATERIALS AND METHODSA cross-sectional registry-based analysis was conducted to describe melanoma mortality trends in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, from 1996 to 2016. Demographic information from melanoma-related death records, including sex and age, was collected from the Fundação Sistema Estadual de Análise de Dados database. The annual percentage change (APC) was calculated to identify mortality trends over the period.RESULTSAn increasing melanoma mortality trend was detected among males, regardless of age (APC, 1.72%; P < .001), and was more pronounced for men ≥ 60 years old (APC, 2.63%; P < .001). Melanoma mortality rates have also increased for patients ≥ 60 years old, regardless of sex (APC, 1.11%; P < .001). A non–statistically significant increase in the overall melanoma mortality rate was observed over the 20-year period analyzed (APC, 0.36%; P = .4).CONCLUSIONOur data suggest a stable melanoma mortality over the past two decades for the overall population studied; however, a significant increase in melanoma mortality rates has been demonstrated among males and in the population ≥ 60 years old, emphasizing the need to implement prevention strategies and expand access to effective therapies for this population.

Socioeconomic Status and Melanoma in Canada: A Systematic Review.

As melanoma is one of the leading cancers in average years of life lost per death from disease, screening and early diagnosis are imperative to decrease morbidity and mortality. Socioeconomic status (SES) has been shown to be associated with melanoma incidence. However, it is unclear if this association holds true in universal healthcare systems where screening, diagnostic, and treatment services are available to all patients. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence on the association of SES and melanoma incidence in Canada. A comprehensive search of PubMed and EMBASE yielded 7 studies reporting on melanoma incidence or outcomes with respect to SES in Canada. High SES was associated with increased melanoma incidence across all studies, which encompassed all Canadian provinces, and time periods spanning from 1979 to 2012. Studies also reported an increasing incidence of melanoma over time. There were substantial discrepancies in melanoma incidence across Canadian provinces, after controlling for SES and demographic characteristics. Populations of lower SES and living within certain healthcare regions had increased risks of advanced melanoma at diagnosis. This review highlights the potential for inequities in access to care even within a universal healthcare system. Future research is needed to characterize specific risk factors within different patient groups and within the universal health system context in order to implement targeted strategies to lower melanoma incidence, morbidity, and mortality.

A Review of Noninvasive Techniques for Skin Cancer Detection in Dermatology.

As a result of increasing melanoma incidence and challenges with clinical and histopathologic evaluation of pigmented lesions, noninvasive techniques to assist in the assessment of skin lesions are highly sought after. This review discusses the methods, benefits, and limitations of adhesive patch biopsy, electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), multispectral imaging, high-frequency ultrasonography (HFUS), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) in the detection of skin cancer. Adhesive patch biopsy provides improved sensitivity and specificity for the detection of melanoma without a trade-off of higher sensitivity for lower specificity seen in other diagnostic tools to aid in skin cancer detection, including EIS and multispectral imaging. EIS and multispectral imaging provide objective information based on computer-assisted diagnosis to assist in the decision to biopsy and/or excise an atypical melanocytic lesion. HFUS may be useful for the determination of skin tumor depth and identification of surgical borders, although further studies are necessary to determine its accuracy in the detection of skin cancer. OCT and RCM provide enhanced resolution of skin tissue and have been applied for improved accuracy in skin cancer diagnosis, as well as monitoring the response of nonsurgical treatments of skin cancers and the determination of tumor margins and recurrences. These novel approaches to skin cancer assessment offer opportunities to dermatologists, but are dependent on the individual dermatologist's comfort, knowledge, and desire to invest in training and implementation of noninvasive techniques. These noninvasive modalities may have a role in the complementary assessment of skin cancers, although histopathologic diagnosis remains the gold standard for the evaluation of skin cancer.

Melanoma: incidence and mortality&#x0D; in the world and Kazakhstan in 2018

Relevance: Melanoma is one of the most aggressive and unpredictable tumors. Melanoma most often affects the skin.&#x0D; Over the past 50 years, the incidence of melanoma in the world has been overgrowing. The highest rates were observed among&#x0D; fair-skinned people and in the regions with lower latitude. The incidence is higher among older adults but is also one of the&#x0D; common forms of cancer among young people. Melanoma incidence and mortality depend on gender, age, ethnicity, as well&#x0D; as on the region of residence.&#x0D; The purpose of the study was to assess the skin melanoma epidemiology in the world and Kazakhstan in 2018.&#x0D; Results: Melanoma incidence was growing throughout the world during the past decades, with an annual incidence of&#x0D; 4-6%. Melanoma incidence is expected to reach 450,000 cases a year in the next two decades.&#x0D; Kazakhstan has experienced an increase in melanoma incidence by 63% over the past ten years. Females made 61% of&#x0D; cases. The incidence remained high in the East Kazakhstan region and the cities of Almaty and Karaganda. High mortality&#x0D; was registered in North Kazakhstan, East Kazakhstan, and Pavlodar regions, and the city of Almaty. Since 2009, the five-year&#x0D; survival with melanoma in the Republic of Kazakhstan has decreased by 2.2%.&#x0D; Conclusion: Melanoma morbidity and mortality is growing worldwide. Even though its incidence is below one-tenths of&#x0D; other types of skin cancer, the ability of melanoma to quickly metastasize and affect young adults makes this disease as a&#x0D; serious social problem.&#x0D; It is necessary to improve the methods of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of melanoma aimed at identifying&#x0D; individuals at high risk of tumor development and optimize the methods of its early diagnostics and definition of the risk of&#x0D; metastasis

Increasing melanoma incidence in the elderly in North-East Hungary: is this a more serious problem than we thought?

There is a great need for efficient and cost-effective melanoma screening, but this is not yet solved. Epidemiological studies on trends in melanoma incidence by tumour thickness, anatomical site and demographical data can help to improve public health efforts regarding earlier melanoma diagnosis. We aimed to study the trends in the incidence and characteristics of patients and their melanoma in North-East Hungary from 2000 to 2014. Data were obtained from a university hospital-based registry. A total of 1509 cutaneous invasive melanomas of 1464 patients were included in the study. A moderate but significant increase in incidence was observed in the region [average annual percentage change: 3.04 (0.07; 6.11); P = 0.045], with a breakpoint in 2007. From 2001 to 2007, the trend was increasing [APC: 9.84 (3.52; 16.55); P=0.006], but it stalled from 2007 [APC: -2.45 (-5.99; 1.23); P = 0.164]. However, in the age groups over the age of 60 years, where the standardised incidence was the highest, the incidence continued to rise. Furthermore, older age, male sex and trunk or lower extremity localization were found to be associated with thicker melanomas. Our results support that regular screening examination for melanoma would be desirable for people over the age of 60 years.

Melanoma Incidence Among Non-Hispanic Whites in All 50 US States From 2001 Through 2015

The United States has large regional variation in primary prevention campaigns for skin cancer. We collected data from all 50 states to examine changes in melanoma incidence and performed age-period-cohort analyses to describe the simultaneous effects of age, period, and cohort on incidence rates. Annual melanoma incidence rates for non-Hispanic whites from 2001 to 2015 were extracted from the US Cancer Statistics registry. Secular trends were examined overall and by sex and state. We used joinpoint regression to compute annual percent change and average annual percent change and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). We also analyzed incidence trends by 5-year age group and birth cohort using incidence rate ratios and age-period-cohort modeling. Melanoma incidence increased from 20.7 per 100000 (95% CI = 20.5 to 20.9) in 2001 to 28.2 per 100000 (95% CI = 28.0 to 28.5) in 2015, increasing by 3.90% (95% CI = 2.36% to 5.48%) annually between 2001 and 2005 and 1.68% (95% CI = 1.37% to 1.99%) annually from 2005 through 2015. The average annual percent change in melanoma incidence rates were similar for men (2.34%, 95% CI = 1.91 to 2.78) and women (2.25%, 95% CI = 1.60 to 2.91). Age-specific relative risk by birth cohort increased from circa 1921 to 1981 before decreasing. Compared with adults born circa 1956, those born circa 1991 had lower melanoma risk (incidence rate ratio = 0.85; 95% CI = 0.77 to 0.94). Geographic variation was observed; some states still have melanoma rates trending upwards in all birth cohorts. The continued increase in melanoma incidence among non-Hispanic whites, particularly in states where rates continue to rise among recent and current birth cohorts, underscores the need for increased public health campaigns aimed at reducing sun exposure.