Reducing mortality in individuals at high risk for advanced melanoma through education and screening

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2011.05.045Get rights and content
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Incidence and mortality rates of melanoma throughout most of the developed world have increased in the past 25 years. We propose that reduction of deaths from melanoma can be best enhanced by strong collaborations between experts in dermatology, primary care, oncology, cancer education and health systems research, epidemiologists, and behavioral scientists, among others. Public and professional educational campaigns should be guided by an understanding of 3 underlying but overlapping roots: epidemiology and preventable mortality (an understanding of who is most likely to be given the diagnosis of thick or late-stage melanoma), biology (an investigation of tumor types that are relatively common but potentially most lethal), and sociology (an analysis of the changes needed in social structures to improve access to those most in need of early detection programs). We review these major concepts, concentrating on the key risk factors for advanced melanoma.

Key words

early detection
education
melanoma
physician
screening
skin cancer

Abbreviations used

AAD
American Academy of Dermatology
CI
confidence interval
NM
nodular melanoma
OR
odds ratio
QALY
quality-adjusted life year
SES
socioeconomic status
SSE
skin self-examination
SSM
superficial spreading melanoma

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Publication of this supplement to the JAAD was supported by the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Conflicts of interest: None declared.

The opinions or views expressed in this supplement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, recommendations, or official position of the journal editors or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.