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
. 2019 Jun 20:16:E79.
doi: 10.5888/pcd16.180640.

Melanoma Among Non-Hispanic Black Americans

MaryBeth B Culp  1   2 , Natasha Buchanan Lunsford  3
Affiliations

Melanoma Among Non-Hispanic Black Americans

MaryBeth B Culp et al. Prev Chronic Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: Few studies have examined melanoma incidence and survival rates among non-Hispanic black populations because melanoma risk is lower among this group than among non-Hispanic white populations. However, non-Hispanic black people are often diagnosed with melanoma at later stages, and the predominant histologic types of melanomas that occur in non-Hispanic black people have poorer survival rates than the most common types among non-Hispanic white people.

Methods: We used the US Cancer Statistics 2001-2015 Public Use Research Database to examine melanoma incidence and 5-year survival among non-Hispanic black US populations.

Results: From 2011 through 2015, the overall incidence of melanoma among non-Hispanic black people was 1.0 per 100,000, and incidence increased with age. Although 63.8% of melanomas in non-Hispanic black people were of unspecified histology, the most commonly diagnosed defined histologic type was acral lentiginous melanoma (16.7%). From 2001 through 2014, the relative 5-year melanoma survival rate among non-Hispanic black people was 66.2%.

Conclusion: Although incidence of melanoma is relatively rare among non-Hispanic black populations, survival rates lag behind rates for non-Hispanic white populations. Improved public education is needed about incidence of acral lentiginous melanoma among non-Hispanic black people along with increased awareness among health care providers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Percentage of non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic white population diagnosed with melanoma, by stage at diagnosis, United States, 2011–2015.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Five-year relative survival rate of melanoma (percentage of people diagnosed with melanoma alive 5 years following diagnosis) among non-Hispanic black (NHB) and non-Hispanic white (NHW) populations, by stage at diagnosis, United States, 2011–2015.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. US Cancer Statistics Working Group. United States cancer statistics: 1999–2014 incidence and mortality web-based report. Atlanta (GA): US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Cancer Institute; 2017. www.cdc.gov/uscs. Accessed June 13, 2018.
    1. Armstrong BK, Kricker A. The epidemiology of UV induced skin cancer. J Photochem Photobiol B 2001;63(1-3):8–18. 10.1016/S1011-1344(01)00198-1 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Richards TB, Johnson CJ, Tatalovich Z, Cockburn M, Eide MJ, Henry KA, et al. Association between cutaneous melanoma incidence rates among white US residents and county-level estimates of solar ultraviolet exposure. J Am Acad Dermatol 2011;65(5, Suppl 1):S50–7. 10.1016/j.jaad.2011.04.035 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Myles ZM, Buchanan N, King JB, Singh S, White A, Wu M, et al. Anatomic distribution of malignant melanoma on the non-Hispanic black patient, 1998–2007. Arch Dermatol 2012;148(7):797–801. 10.1001/archdermatol.2011.3227 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hu S, Ma F, Collado-Mesa F, Kirsner RS. UV radiation, latitude, and melanoma in US Hispanics and blacks. Arch Dermatol 2004;140(7):819–24. 10.1001/archderm.140.7.819 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types