Death from skin cancer among the elderly: epidemiological patterns.
BACKGROUND
Melanoma has been the focus of early detection efforts of skin cancer because it is the leading cause of death from skin disorders.


OBJECTIVE
To document the patterns of mortality from skin cancer throughout life.


METHODS
Population-based mortality registration.


METHODS
United States, 1979 through 1991.


METHODS
Decedents from skin cancer.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
Distribution of deaths from skin cancer by cause of death, age, gender, and race.


RESULTS
Skin cancer was responsible for 61458 deaths during the 8 years studied, 72% of which were attributed to melanoma. Melanoma accounted for about 90% of deaths from skin cancer among whites younger than 50 years, but only a minority of deaths among blacks and among whites older than 85 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Efforts at early detection among the elderly white population should focus on both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers.
Weinstock
M A
MA
Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Department of Dermatology, Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University, Providence 02908-4799, USA. martin_weinstock_md@brown.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044383:Black People; D002423:Cause of Death; D003644:Death Certificates; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000401:mortality; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012737:Sex Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American