title: Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma in Jamaica, 1958 to 2007.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To document the epidemiology of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) in Jamaica over the 50-year period, 1958-2007.
  
  
  METHODS
  All cases of CMM recorded in the Jamaica Cancer Registry (JCR), for the period 1958-2007, were collected. For each case, we documented method of ascertainment, age, gender and anatomical location. Age standardized incidence rates (ASRs) for the seven five-year periods from 1973-2007 were also obtained from the JCR.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 220 cases of CMM from 218 patients (131 females, 87 males; male:female ratio 1:1.5), ranging in age from 21 to 98 years (median age 62 years). The majority of cases (94%) were ascertained via biopsy. The ASRs fluctuated around 0.9 per 100 000 per year from 1973 to 2007, ranging from 0.6-1.4 per 100 000 per year in females and 0.5-1.1 per 100 000 per year in males. Cutaneous malignant melanoma was most common in the lower limb (59% of males and 69% of females). The foot was the most common lower limb site (female: 77%, male: 83%) and the commonest site overall (female: 53%, male: 49%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In Jamaica, CMM is more common in females than in males. In both genders, the ASRs were noted to be low and fluctuated around 0.9 per 100 000 per year since 1973. The lower limb is the commonest anatomical site, with the majority of cases involving the foot. These findings are similar to those documented in other predominantly Black populations.
authors: Jamaica Cancer Registry, Department of Pathology, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
authors: C G
authors: CG
authors: Liburd
authors: Jamaica Cancer Registry, Department of Pathology, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica. tracey.gibson@uwimona.edu.jm.
authors: T N
authors: TN
authors: Gibson
authors: Jamaica Cancer Registry, Department of Pathology, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Hanchard
authors: Jamaica Cancer Registry, Department of Pathology, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
authors: N
authors: N
authors: Waugh
authors: Jamaica Cancer Registry, Department of Pathology, The University of the West Indies, Kingston 7, Jamaica.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: McNaughton