title: Melanoma in the Italian Population and Regional Environmental Influences: A National Retrospective Survey on 2001-2008 Hospitalization Records.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the burden of regional environmental factors influencing the incidence of Melanoma in the Italian population and overcome the problem of partial population coverage by local cancer registries and thematic archives.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed the Italian national hospitalization records from 2001 to 2008 provided by the Ministry of Health, excluding hospital re-admissions of the same patients, in order to assess the occurrence of Melanoma over a 8-year period. Data were presented by age groups (absolute number of cases from 20 to ≥80 years old) and per Region (rates per 100,000 inhabitants) for each year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall number of new hospitalizations due to malignant Melanoma increased by 16.8% from 2001 (n = 4846) to 2008 (n = 5823), with the rate per 100,000 inhabitants passing from 10.5 to almost 12.0 at a national level. The majority of new diagnoses of malignant Melanoma was observed in two age groups: 61-70 years old (from 979 in 2001 up to 2109 in 2008, corresponding to 15.1 and 18.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively) and 71-80 years old (from 954 in 2001 up to 1141 in 2008, corresponding to 19.5 and 21.8 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively). The number of hospitalizations due to Melanoma increased in all age groups with the only exception of the youngest patients aged 20-30 years old. The highest increases over the 8-year period were observed in people aged ≥81 years old (+34%), 61-70 years old (+20%) and surprisingly in the age group 31-40 years old (+17%). Southern Regions showed lower hospitalization rates compared to Northern Italy and Region Lazio. The highest increases between 2001 and 2008 were observed in Trentino/Alto Adige, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Valla d'Aosta and Veneto Region.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hospitalizations due to malignant Melanoma in Italy seem to be influenced by environmental or population-related factors showing a decreasing incidence rate from the Northern to Southern Regions.
authors.affiliation: Southern Italy Hospital Institute, IOS/Coleman Ltd., Naples 80100, Italy. prisco.piscitelli@tiscali.it.
authors.forename: Prisco
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Piscitelli
authors.affiliation: Euro Mediterranean Biomedical Scientific Institute, Brindisi 72100, Italy. neglia@isbem.it.
authors.forename: Cosimo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Neglia
authors.affiliation: Southern Italy Hospital Institute, IOS/Coleman Ltd., Naples 80100, Italy. falco.and@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falco
authors.affiliation: Southern Italy Hospital Institute, IOS/Coleman Ltd., Naples 80100, Italy. matteo.rivezzi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rivezzi
authors.affiliation: Euro Mediterranean Biomedical Scientific Institute, Brindisi 72100, Italy. agnello@isbem.it.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Agnello
authors.affiliation: Euro Mediterranean Biomedical Scientific Institute, Brindisi 72100, Italy. albertoargentiero@isbem.it.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Argentiero
authors.affiliation: Euro Mediterranean Biomedical Scientific Institute, Brindisi 72100, Italy. chitano@isbem.it.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chitano
authors.affiliation: Euro Mediterranean Biomedical Scientific Institute, Brindisi 72100, Italy. chiara.distante@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Distante
authors.affiliation: Euro Mediterranean Biomedical Scientific Institute, Brindisi 72100, Italy. dellarosa.giulia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Della Rosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Federico II University, Naples 80132, Italy. giorgia.vinci@hotmail.it.
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vinci
authors.affiliation: Department of Science, Biotechnology and Environment (DISTEBA), University of Salento, Lecce 73100, Italy. antonella.dedonno@unisalento.it.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Donno
authors.affiliation: Euro Mediterranean Biomedical Scientific Institute, Brindisi 72100, Italy. distante@isbem.it.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Distante
authors.affiliation: Melanoma Unit, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa 56126, Italy. a.romanini@ao-pisa.toscana.it.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romanini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D055815:Young Adult; D000096142:Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma
keywords: Melanoma; environment; environmental factors; hospitalizations; incidence; regions