Melanoma Cases on the Rise

March 9, 2010 (Miami Beach, Fla.) -- While some researchers suggest the
rising rate melanoma may simply reflect a change in how doctors diagnose
melanoma and the increased availability of skin cancer screenings, a leading
dermatologist says the increase is real.
The average American's risk of developing melanoma in his or her lifetime
increased from one in 1,500 in 1930, to one in 250 in 1980 and one in 74 in
2000, says Darrell S. Rigel, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at New York
University Medical Center in New York City and a past president of the American
Academy of Dermatology.
By 2004, a person had a one in 65 chance of getting the deadly skin cancer
and now that risk is one in 58, Rigel says.
"If this rate continues to rise at the same pace, the risk will be one in 50
by 2015," he tells WebMD.
A total of 68,720 Americans were diagnosed with melanoma in 2009, compared
with 47,700 in 2000, according to the CDC.
At the American Academy of Dermatology's annual meeting here, Rigel
dispelled what he calls myths about the rise in melanoma.





Precancerous Skin Lesions and Skin Cancer

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