Sharp Rise in Skin Cancer Cases

Skin cancer (cutaneous melanoma) is the most common form of cancer in the United States. Jerry Brewer, from Mayo Clinic (Minnesota, USA), and colleagues completed a population-based study using records from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, selecting participants ages 40 to 60 years with a first lifetime diagnosis of melanoma between January 1, 1970, and December 31, 2009.  The researchers found that among white, non-Hispanic adults, the incidence of skin cancer increased 4.5-fold among men and 24-fold among women.  In particular, women under age 50 showed a marked increase in melanoma. Overall chances of surviving melanoma increased by 7% each year of the study.  Further, the researchers found the steepest increase in melanoma occurred in the last decade covered by the study, 2000 to 2009. The uptick, researchers speculate, may be connected to the popularization of tanning beds in the 1980s and 1990s.  The study authors conclude that: “The incidence of cutaneous melanoma among middle-aged adults increased over the past 4 decades, especially in middle-aged women, whereas mortality decreased.”