CDC: Incidence of melanoma has doubled in the US in the last 30 years.
The Los Angeles Times (6/3, Kaplan) “Science Now” blog reports that “the incidence of melanoma...has doubled in the U.S. in the last 30 years and is on track to remain high unless Americans take more precautions to protect themselves from ultraviolet radiation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said” yesterday. The “Vital Signs study” was “published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.” The blog adds that while “Melanomas account for only 2% of skin cancers...they are the deadliest kind, according to the National Cancer Institute.”
On its website, CBS News (6/3, Cohen) reports that in a statement, Dr. Lisa Richardson, the director of the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, said, “If we take action now, we can prevent hundreds of thousands of new cases of skin cancers, including melanoma, and save billions of dollars in medical costs.”
Melanoma rates up among US children, young adults. Health Day (6/3, Dallas) reports that research indicates that “melanoma...has increased by 250 percent among U.S. children and young adults since the 1970s.” The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting.
