Rates for melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, are up by 250 percent among U.S. children and younger adults since the 1970s, and young women are the most vulnerable, a research report said.
The UMHS Endeavour looks at the alarming findings of the study, based on a news release from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and featured on MedlinePlus. This is to help the public and future doctors at American and Caribbean medical schools know about the health dangers of sun exposure as we prepare for summer in North America.
Young women account for two-thirds of cases diagnosed in 2011, scientists at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY said.
"The reality is that melanoma is the third most common cancer in those 15 to 39 years old, and these numbers have been steadily increasing," said Dr, Nikhil Khushalani, the study's senior author and section chief for soft tissue and melanoma at the cancer institute.
The report’s findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago in early June 2015. The research is still considered preliminary until it has been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
Dr. Khushalani said the problem is best addressed with “awareness and effective prevention strategies.”
Although melanoma rates have gone up, survival rates have also improved, “increasing from 80 percent in the mid-to-late 1970s to 95 percent in 2011,” MedlinePlus said.
Details of Study
Following are details of the study.
- More than 35,000 cases of melanoma among patients under age 40 and diagnosed between 1973 and 2011.
- 98% of cases involved teens and young adults between ages 15 and 39.
- Women accounted for 57% of melanomas reported between 1973 and 1980. Women made up about 65% of all diagnoses by 2011. Researchers attributed this to “unsafe tanning practices,” such as sunbathing and use of indoor tanning equipment.
- Some 4% melanoma cases diagnosed before 1980 were classified as noninvasive and early stage. The cancers accounted for more than 20 percent of all cases by 2011, the study found.
"Given the epidemic rise of melanoma cases diagnosed among children, adolescents and young adults, it is imperative that new research initiatives are implemented, genetic and environmental risk factors identified, and effective prevention and screening strategies employed," oncology fellow, Dr. Demytra Mitsis, the lead author of the study, said in an American Society of Clinical Oncology news release in late May 2015.
(Top photo) RATE OF DEADLIEST FORM OF SKIN CANCER IN USA RISES: Melanoma rates have risen at an alarming rate since the 1970s, researchers say in a new report. Photo: Blausen/Wikimedia Commons
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Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at UMHS and editor of the UMHS Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about UMHS students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and UMHS research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.
