title: Melanoma epidemic across the millennium: time trends of cutaneous melanoma in Emilia-Romagna (Italy) from 1997 to 2004.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  After a rapid increase in malignant melanoma (MM) incidence in the last decades, trends of the melanoma epidemic in the recent years seemed not homogeneous.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed at the monitoring of some epidemiological data referring to melanoma in a region of the Northern Italy during the past 8-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  All cases of melanoma, including also in situ lesions, diagnosed in Emilia-Romagna and San Marino State, with the exclusion of Cesena province, from 1997 to 2004 were recorded and the incidence of melanoma, adjusted for the European standard population by the direct method, was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean standardized incidence was 9.7 for invasive MMs and 11.9, considering also in situ ones, showing an ascending trend with an increment of 3.3 new incident cases in 2004 compared with 1997. No differences in age distribution, gender and site were reported. Concerning tumour thickness, although a general ascending trend in all subtypes, only thin melanoma incidence significantly increased over the study period.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Contrary to data from Northern European countries, melanoma incidence still showed an ascending trend in the Italian population of Emilia Romagna.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy. pellacani.giovanni@unimo.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pellacani
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lo Scocco
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vinceti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Albertini
authors.forename: A Ascari
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Raccagni
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baldassari
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Catrani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Donelli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghetti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lanzoni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leardini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reggiani
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santini
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stanganelli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Virgili
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seidenari
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*