Melanoma on the Rise! Notes from a San Francisco Bay Area Dermatologist

US melanoma incidence increasing 2.4% annually.

As highlighted in Dermatology Daily, MedPage Today (12/21, Walsh) reported that, according to an analysis published in the Dec. issue of the Archives of Dermatology, “melanoma incidence nationwide has been increasing at a rate of 2.4% per year, with certain groups having distinctly higher rates of annual increase.” After analyzing data on “41,072 cases of melanoma,” researchers found that “the highest rates of advanced melanoma…were seen in blacks,” while “Hispanics had a higher proportion of advanced melanomas than whites.” An accompanying editorial noted that the study “adds melanoma to the list of documented health disparities in ethnic minority populations.”

I believe this rate increase of melanoma among minorities reflects the misheld belief that those with non-Caucasian or darker skin types have “natural” protection from the negative effects of the sun.  In fact people of all skin types must practice sun safety and have any changes to their skin, including “funny” moles, spots or anything on their body that newly catches their attention, checked out by their doctor immediately.  Remember that Bob Marley died prematurely at age 36 from melanoma, which with an earlier diagnosis and treatment could have been prevented!

Tags: bay area dermatologist, Dermatology, melanoma, san francisco bay area dermatologist, san francisco dermatologist

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Skin Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.