Melanoma death and incidence rates vary among states, partly because of demographic differences.

‘Melanoma death and incidence by states and in four geographic regions has been compared in new research letter published online by JAMA Dermatology.’

Robert P. Dellavalle of the Denver Veterans
Affairs Medical Center and the University of Colorado School of
Medicine, Aurora, and coauthors used a publicly available database to
analyze melanoma death and incidence rates by state and geographic
region. Researchers report:




- 23 of 48 states (with data for 2003 and 2013) had a decrease in melanoma death rates; four states had no change and 21 states saw an increase. - 11 of the 49 states with reported melanoma incidence rates saw a decrease and 38 states had an increase.
"Promoting greater awareness of skin cancer through public health programs has been associated with increased documentation and incidence rates. Lower death rates may further indicate that better treatment may be prolonging the life of patients with melanoma. Further research into the prevalence of melanoma in these four geographic regions is needed," the article concludes.
Source-Eurekalert