Mortality from Deadly Skin Cancer is Higher in Men Than in Women

Researchers at Stanford University have found that young men with the deadliest form of skin cancer were more likely to die of the disease compared to women. The researchers observed more than 26,000 non-Hispanic white adolescents and young adult patients suffering from the primary invasive melanoma of the skin and who were diagnosed between January 1989 and December 2009.

The researchers found that around 1,500 patients died of the disease with adolescents and young adults making up more than 63 percent of the fatalities with men 55 percent more likely to die compared to women. The study has been published in the journal JAMA Dermatology.

“Continued public health efforts are necessary to raise awareness of the outcome of melanoma in young men. Understanding melanoma mortality in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) is critical because melanoma is the third-most common cancer in AYAs and accounts for the most years of potential life lost compared with all malignant tumors. Few studies have addressed differences in melanoma mortality between AYA men and women”, the researchers wrote in their report.



Source-Medindia