Data Brief Raises Awareness about Melanoma

Melanoma of the skin is the third most common type of skin cancer but is more dangerous than other types because it causes the most deaths. A new U.S. Cancer Statistics data brief shows that from 2012 to 2016, about 77,698 new cases of melanoma occurred in the United States each year. The highest rates of new melanoma cases were among non-Hispanic white males, followed by non-Hispanic white females. Nearly 9,000 more melanoma cases were diagnosed among non-Hispanic whites in 2016 compared to 2012, with most of the increases among people who were 55 years or older. Each year during 2012 to 2016, about 9,008 people died from melanoma. The highest death rate was among non-Hispanic white males.

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Melanoma Incidence and Mortality, United States—2012–2016

U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Briefs, No. 9
July 2019

Invasive melanoma of the skin is the third most common skin cancer type. In 2014, The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Skin Cancer (Call to Action) was released to raise awareness about skin cancer as a serious public health concern. One of the five goals outlined in the Call to Action was to “strengthen research, surveillance, monitoring, and evaluation related skin cancer prevention,” including enhancing understanding of melanoma incidence and death rates.

Incidence

Based on data from 2012 to 2016, about 77,698 new cases of melanoma occurred in the United States each year, including 45,854 among men and 31,845 among women. The overall incidence rate of melanoma was 21.8 per 100,000. The highest incidence rate was among non-Hispanic white males (34.9 per 100,000), and the lowest rate was among black females (0.9 per 100,000) (Table 1).