[Melanoma epidemiology in Spain]

Abstract

Spain has one of Europe's lowest melanoma incidence and mortality rates. Nevertheless, it is one of the fastest-growing pathologies in our country, with a 181.3% increase in the incidence rate in men and 205.3% increase in women. It represents 1.3% and 2.5% of malignant tumors in men and women, respectively, while the current standardized worldwide rate is respectively 2.4% and 4.9%. The highest incidence levels correspond to Tarragona for men (6.81%) and Gerona for women (8.24%), and lowest to the Canary Islands and Zaragoza (3.55% and 4.27% for women and men, respectively). This higher incidence among females differentiates Spain from the rest of Europe, where the opposite occurs. Mortality has also increased in Spain in the last few decades (1.76% in males and 1.26% in females), although this rising trend has stabilized in recent years. Spain's mortality rate is the lowest in Europe, as the EUROCARE-III study revealed. This study found an increase of 70.4% in the survival rate for men and 84.1% for women in the 1980s, while the figures for the 1990s were 73.9% for men and 89.8% for women. This low mortality rate in Spain may be due to the increase in thin melanomas, due to early diagnosis and surgical treatment.