The risk of developing melanoma is 1 in 32 in the United States currently and continues to increase. In the last 20 years melanoma has tripled in the white population.
Melanoma makes up only 4% of all skin cancers, but is the most deadly worldwide.
Early identification through regular skin screening hastens time to diagnosis and greatly increases long term survival odds.
Risk Factors For Melanoma
Those at highest risk for the development of melanoma usually (not always) have at least one of the following risk factors:
- Have a family history of melanoma
- Are of older age (over 50 years of age)
- Have a change(s) in moles on skin
- Live in Australia and New Zealand (highest worldwide incidence)
- Have a history of excessive childhood sun exposure
- Have a history of blistering sunburns in childhood
- Are of fair complexion (can include blue or green eyes, blond or red hair and/or a light complexion)
- Have a history of prior nonmelanoma cancer (basal or squamous cell)
- Have a large number of moles (over 100)
Age,Sex And Melanoma
- The median age for the development of melanoma is 53 years.
- For women ages 25 to 29, melanoma is the most common cancer.
- For women ages 30-34 years, melanoma is second most common cancer; second to cancer of the breast.
- At over 50 years of age, both incidence and mortality increase; at over 65 years of age these factors increase markedly.
Race And Melanoma
- The current risk for developing invasive melanoma is 1 in 60 in the United States (as stated above, this risk increases to 1 in 32 for all melanomas) and has tripled in the white population in the US since the 1980s.
- African Americans are diagnosed 1/20th as frequently as whites.
- Hispanics are diagnosed 1/6th as frequently as whites.
- Post diagnosis, African American and Hispanic mortality rates are higher than white patients due to type of disease and advanced staging at diagnosis.
Skin Cancer Self Checklist
Regular skin cancer self checks are recommended and can be achieved thoroughly by utilizing the following checklist provided by the American Academy of Dermatology:
- Examine whole body in front of a mirror, front and back with arms raised, turn to left and then to right.
- Examine forearms, upper arms and palms with elbows bent.
- Examine front and back of legs and feet.
- Examine spaces in between toes and the soles of the feet.
- With a hand mirror look at back of neck and scalp; parting hair as needed.
- With a hand mirror examine back and buttocks.
How To Determine If A Mole Is Potentially Dangerous
Any moles that have changes, are different from others, are new are painful, itchy, bleeding and/or are worrisome in any way should be examined by a physician.
Examine any mole with the following ABCD (E) guidelines:
- A = Asymmetry - Look for differences in one half of the mole to its other half (if you divided the mole in half (in any way) do the two sides look different?)
- B=Border – Look for irregular, scalloped, ragged, notched, blurred and/or poorly defined borders (edges)
- C=Color – Look for color variations from one part of the mole to the other (are there different colors present?) Look for more than one color(s) of tan, brown, black, red, white and/or blue.
- D=Diameter – A melanoma can be smaller than a pencil eraser (6mm) although upon presentation (diagnosis) they are often bigger.
- E=Evolving - Look for “evolving” changes in the mole over time.
- Clinicians often use the “ugly duckling” rule and compare a suspect mole to others as melanomas will often appear different from others on an individual.
If a mole satisfies any of the ABCD (E) 's and /or the “ugly duckling” criteria it should be examined professionally.
A skin cancer self check chart is available for download on the American Academy of Dermatology website and is a useful tool to “map” body mole presence for future checks.
Early identification and examination is a simple yet critical step towards saving lives.
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