Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Aug 30;16(1):691.
doi: 10.1186/s12885-016-2747-6.

Racial differences in six major subtypes of melanoma: descriptive epidemiology

Yu Wang  1 , Yinjun Zhao  2 , Shuangge Ma  3   4   5
Affiliations

Racial differences in six major subtypes of melanoma: descriptive epidemiology

Yu Wang et al. BMC Cancer. .

Abstract

Background: Melanoma accounts for the majority of skin cancer deaths. It has over thirty different subtypes. Different races have been observed to differ in multiple aspects of melanoma.

Methods: SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) data on six major subtypes, namely melanoma in situ (MIS), superficial spreading melanoma (SSM), nodular melanoma (NM), lentigo maligna melanoma (LMM), acral lentiginous melanoma malignant (ALM), and malignant melanoma NOS (NOS), were analyzed. The racial groups studied included NHW (non-Hispanic white), HW (Hispanic white), Black, and Asian/PI (Pacific Islanders). Univariate and multivariate analysis was conducted to quantify racial differences in patients' characteristics, incidence, treatment, and survival.

Results: Significant racial differences are observed in patients' characteristics. For all subtypes except for ALM, NHWs have the highest incidence rates, followed by HWs, while Blacks have the lowest. For ALM, HWs have the highest rate, followed by NHWs. In stratified analysis, interaction between gender and race is observed. For the first five subtypes and localized and regional NOS, the dominating majority of patients had surgery, while for distant NOS, the distribution of treatment is more scattered. Significant racial differences are observed for distant ALM and NOS. For MIS, SSM, NM, LMM, and ALM, there is no significant racial difference in survival. For NOS, significant racial differences in survival are observed for the localized and regional stages, with NHWs having the best and Blacks having the worst five-year survival rates.

Conclusions: Racial differences exist for the six major melanoma subtypes in the U.S. More data collection and analysis are needed to fully describe and interpret the differences across racial groups and across subtypes.

Keywords: Melanoma; Racial difference; SEER; Subtype.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Relative survival rates up to five years, for all stages combined. Cancers diagnosed in the period of 1973–2006 and followed up to 12/31/2011
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Relative survival rates up to five years, stratified by stage. Cancers diagnosed in the period of 1973–2006 and followed up to 12/31/2011
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rebecca LS, Kimberly DM, Ahmedin J. Cancer Statistics, 2015. CA Cancer J Clin. 2015;65:5–29. doi: 10.3322/caac.21254. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ries LA, Wingo PA, Miller DS, Howe HL, Weir HK, Rosenberg HM, Vemon SW, Cronin K, Edwards BK. The annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, 1973–1997, with a special section on colorectal cancer. Cancer. 2000;88(10):2398–2424. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(20000515)88:10<2398::AID-CNCR26>3.0.CO;2-I. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cress RD, Holly EA. Incidence of cutaneous melanoma among non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics, Asians, and blacks: an analysis of California cancer registry data, 1988-93. Cancer Causes Control. 1997;8(2):246–252. doi: 10.1023/A:1018432632528. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Du XL, Lin CC, Johnson NJ, Altekruse S. Effects of Individual-Level Socioeconomic Factors on Racial Disparities in Cancer Treatment and Survival: Findings from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, 1979–2003. Cancer. 2011;117(14):3242–3251. doi: 10.1002/cncr.25854. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Collins KK, Fields RC, Baptiste D, Liu Y, Moley J, Jeffe DB. Racial Differences in Survival after Surgical Treatment for Melanoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2011;18(10):2925–2936. doi: 10.1245/s10434-011-1706-3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types