Progress in the Prevention and Management of Malignant Melanoma.

The incidence of malignant melanoma is increasing at a faster rate than that of any other cancer in the United States (Fig 1). It is estimated that for people born in the year 2000, one in 75 people will be diagnosed with the disease sometime during his or her lifetime. The number of people diagnosed with melanoma rose by approximately 4% per year from 1973 to 1992. The American Cancer Society estimates that 34,100 people will be diagnosed with melanoma in the United States in 1995, an approximate rate of one case every 15 minutes! This "undeclared epidemic" of melanoma is believed to be the consequence of the attitudes of the 1960s and 1970s, when people began to spend more time in the sun and wear less clothing. In addition, the thinning of the ozone layer, with the concomitant increase in ultraviolet radiation exposure to the skin, is also implicated. Despite increasing worldwide attention to melanoma as a result of campaigns for prevention and early detection of melanoma, the incidence in all parts of the world continues to increase.