Melanoma Skin Cancer Facts

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Malignant Melanoma Skin Cancer Facts:

1. Seventh most common cancer in the United States.
2. One out of every 105 Americans born in 1991 will develop malignant melanoma (compared to 1 out of 1,500 in 1935).
3. It is more common in Caucasian populations living in sunny climates than in other groups, or in those who use tanning salons.
4. According to a WHO report about 48,000 melanoma related deaths occur worldwide per year.
5. Around 60,000 new cases of invasive melanoma are diagnosed in the US each year, more frequently in males and in Caucasians.
6. Most common cancer in young adults age 25-29.
7. 
   Among women age 30-35, incidence is exceeded only by breast cancer.
8. Incidence increasing 4% annually, higher than any other cancer.
9. On average, one melanoma death in the U.S. per hour.
10. Increase is the result of recreational sun exposure, thinning of the ozone layer, and better detection.
11. The vast majority of mutations found in melanoma are caused by ultraviolet radiation.
12. The incidence of many common cancers is falling, but the incidence of melanoma continues to rise significantly, at a rate faster than that of any of the seven most common cancers.
13. Approximately 68,720 melanomas will be diagnosed this year, with nearly 8,650 resulting in death, compared with 47,700 cases in 2000, according to the CDC.
14. Melanoma accounts for about three percent of skin cancer cases,³¹ but it causes more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths.
15. Melanoma mortality increased by about 33 percent from 1975-90, but has remained relatively stable since 1990.
16. Survival with melanoma increased from 49 percent between 1950 and 1954 to 92 percent between 1996 and 2003.
17. More than 20 Americans die each day from skin cancer, primarily melanoma. One person dies of melanoma almost every hour (every 62 minutes).
18. The survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early, before the tumor has penetrated the epidermis, is about 99 percent. The survival rate falls to 15 percent for those with advanced disease.
19. Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer for males and sixth most common for females.
20. Women aged 39 and under have a higher probability of developing melanoma than any other cancer except breast cancer.
21. Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old.
22. About 65 percent of melanoma cases can be attributed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
23. One in 55 people will be diagnosed with melanoma during their lifetime.
24. One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.
25. A person's risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns at any age.

Main article - Melanoma Causes and Risk Factors