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Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer, claiming the lives of thousands of Americans each year. However, if it is recognized and treated in its early stages, it is nearly 100 percent curable. Since melanoma most often appears on fair-skinned men and women, public education has been geared primarily toward the Caucasian population. Researchers believe these efforts have resulted in early detection and increased survival rates among whites—from 68 percent in the 1970s to 92 percent in recent years. But, according to a recent study, other racial and ethnic groups have not seen similar improvements. In fact, “blacks in the U.S. have more advanced melanoma in association with worse survival rates,” suggesting that melanoma awareness programs should be expanded to better include minority communities, the study authors said.

For the study, researchers from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, led by Dr. Shasa Hu, assistant professor of dermatology and cutaneous surgery and Dr. Robert Kirsner, Steifel Laboratories Professor and vice chairman of the Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery, analyzed data from the Florida Cancer Data System, a state-wide, population-based registry of cancer incidence. From 1990 to 2004, more than 41,000 cases of melanoma were diagnosed—39,670 in white non-Hispanic individuals, 1,148 in white Hispanics and 254 in African-Americans. In the 14-year timeframe, incidence rates increased by at least 3 percent a year among white non-Hispanic men and women. White Hispanic women experienced a similar increase, but white Hispanic men saw less than 1.0 percent increase, and African-American men and women had virtually no increase.

However, while 12 percent of white non-Hispanic patients were diagnosed with melanoma that had spread to other parts of their bodies, 18 percent of white Hispanic patients and 26 percent of African-American patients had more advanced melanoma when they were diagnosed. Over the 15-year period, the proportion of advanced-stage disease diagnosed among all three groups decreased. White non-Hispanics saw a steady decrease, from 7.1 percent to 3.4 percent, but the proportion of Hispanics and African-Americans diagnosed at this stage decreased only slightly. Hu says melanoma among darker-skinned populations has not received as much attention, partly due to their overall lower risk compared with white non-Hispanics. She points out that their findings indicate that delayed melanoma diagnosis and the lowest survival rates are often seen in African-Americans.