How common is malignant melanoma in the United States?

In terms of incidence, melanoma is the most rapidly increasing form of cancer in the United States. Its incidence has increased more than 15-fold over the past 40 years. In 2005, the age-adjusted incidence was 24.6 per 100,000 for men and 15.6 per 100,000 for women. More than 59,000 cases of invasive melanoma and approximately 46,000 new cases of melanoma in situ were diagnosed in the United States in 2005. Malignant melanoma is the fifth and sixth most common form of cancer in men and women, respectively. It is now the most common cancer in young women aged 25 to 29 years. The lifetime risk of developing melanoma has increased from 1 in 1500 for someone born in the early 1900s to 1 in 100 for people born in 1990 to an estimated 1 in 41 to 61 for persons born in the year 2007. Incidence rates differ between genders, ages, ethnic groups, and regions. In this regard, before the age of 40, the incidence of melanoma is higher in young women; subsequently the incidence of melanoma increases rapidly in men, but the rate of increase slows in women.


The mortality rates for melanoma have also continued to increase, although not as greatly as incidence rates. From 1975 to 1990, the mortality rates for women and men increased by 1.6% and 2.2%, respectively. In contrast to women, mortality rates continue to increase in men. In this regard, men older than 65 years have the greatest risk of dying from their disease.

The discrepancy between the rates of increase of incidence and mortality in melanoma has been attributed to improved early detection and the diagnosis of thinner lesions. However, there has been a concurrent increase in thicker, more advanced melanoma lesions, suggesting a true increase in biologically aggressive disease. This issue is likely not going to be resolved until there are better prognostic markers for malignant melanoma.

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Tucker MA: Melanoma epidemiology, Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 23:383–395, 2009.