Study examines melanoma incidence, death

A new research letter published online by JAMA Dermatology updates information on trends in melanoma incidence and death in the United States since 2009.

Alex M. Glazer, M.D., of the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine, New York, and coauthors report an estimated 76,380 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma in 2016. They note that:

• Incidence rates per 100,000 population have grown from 22.2 to 23.6.
• Current lifetime risk of an American developing invasive melanoma is 1 in 54 compared with 1 in 58 when the authors reported in 2009.
• Risk of early stage in situ melanoma has risen from 1 in 78 in 2009 to 1 in 58 now.
• Lifetime risk of being diagnosed with invasive or in situ melanoma is now 1 in 28.
• The current estimate is that 10,130 Americans will die from melanoma in 2016, up from 8,650 in 2009.

"The overall burden of disease for melanoma is increasing and rising rates are not simply artifact owing to increased detection of indolent disease," the article concludes.