What has changed in the epidemiology of skin melanoma in central Italy during the past 20 years?

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate changes in skin melanoma incidence and mortality at a population level in central Italy over the past two decades. Skin melanoma incidence rate from 1994 to 2014, were retrieved from the Umbrian Cancer Registry (about 900 000 inhabitants). Changes from 1994-1999 to 2010-2014 in tumour and patient characteristics - sex, age (0-44, 45-64, ≥ 65 years), site (head and neck, trunk, limbs), morphology (superficial spreading, nodular, other), thickness (≤ 1, 1-2, 2-4, > 4) and stage I-II, III-IV - were evaluated. Trends in age-standardized incidence and mortality rates were evaluated as annual percent change. During the past two decades, melanoma incidence significantly increased in both sexes (+6%/year among men and +4%/year among women) and in all ages (0-44 years: + 4.7 and + 4.3; 45-64 years: + 6.1 and + 4.4; ≥65 years: + 6.6 and + 1.7), morphologies, except nodular, and stages. Mortality was stable among men and women. In the area, incidence increased for thin and thick melanoma, showing a true increase, whereas mortality did not increase. Therefore, although improvements in treatment and downstaging effect of early diagnosis have to be considered, a certain degree of overdiagnosis cannot be ruled out.