Cancer of the skin is by far the most common of all cancers. Melanoma accounts for less than 5% of skin cancer cases but causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths.
The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for melanoma in the United States are for 2012:
- About 76,250 new melanomas will be diagnosed (about 44,250 in men and 32,000 in women). Incidence rates for melanoma have been rising for at least 30 years.
- About 9,180 people are expected to die of melanoma (about 6,060 men and 3,120 women). From 2004 to 2008, the death rate in whites has been dropping in those younger than 50, but has been stable in women or rising in men older than 50.
Melanoma is more than 10 times more common in whites than in African Americans. Although before age 40, incidence rates are higher in women than in men, after 40, rates are almost twice as high in men as in women. Overall, the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 2% (1 in 50) for whites, 0.1% (1 in 1,000) for blacks, and 0.5% (1 in 200) for Hispanics. The risk for each person can be affected by a number of different factors, which are described in the section called “What are the risk factors for melanoma?”
Unlike many other common cancers, melanoma has a wide age distribution. It occurs in younger as well as older people. Rates continue to increase with age and are highest among those in their 80s, but melanoma is not uncommon even among those younger than 30. In fact, it is one of the more common cancers in young adults.
For information on survival rates for melanoma, see the section called "How is melanoma staged?"
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