Increasing Incidence of Melanoma in the Elderly: An Epidemiological Study in Olmsted County, Minnesota.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the age- and sex-adjusted incidence of melanoma in adults 61 years or older in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1970 through 2009.


METHODS
Using Rochester Epidemiology Project resources, 397 patients were identified who were 61 years or older and who received a first lifetime diagnosis of melanoma from January 1, 1970, through December 31, 2009, in Olmsted County. The incidence of melanoma and the overall and disease-specific survival rates were compared by age, sex, year of diagnosis, and stage of disease.


RESULTS
From 1970 through 2009, age- and sex-adjusted incidence increased significantly (P<.001) from 17.0 (95% CI, 8.6-25.4) to 124.6 (95% CI, 108.9-140.3) per 100,000 person-years, with a 4-fold increase in women and a more than 11-fold increase in men. In men, incidence rates increased with age (P<.001) and over time (P<.001). In women, incidence rates increased over time (P<.001) but were constant across all age groups studied (P=.90). The dramatic increase in the incidence of melanoma was observed mainly for stages 0 and I tumors in both men and women (>55-fold increase). Disease-specific survival increased across the decades (P<.001); when year of diagnosis was compared to mortality, hazard ratios were 0.94 (95% CI, 0.90-0.99; P=.010) and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.89-0.98; P=.006) for men and women, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of melanoma in older men and women increased significantly over the past 4 decades in Olmsted County, with men experiencing higher rates of increase than did women.
Mayo Graduate School, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN.
Jeannette M
JM
Olazagasti Lourido
Mayo Medical School, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN.
Janice E
JE
Ma
Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
Christine M
CM
Lohse
Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. Electronic address: brewer.jerry@mayo.edu.
Jerry D
JD
Brewer
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D008910:Minnesota / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D015996:Survival Rate
Am J Epidemiol. 2011 May 1;173(9):1059-68
21430193
J Natl Cancer Inst. 2002 Oct 16;94(20):1537-45
12381706
Arch Dermatol. 1991 Aug;127(8):1188-93
1863077
Ann Surg Oncol. 2004 Mar;11(3):259-64
14993020
CA Cancer J Clin. 2009 Jul-Aug;59(4):225-49
19474385
J Clin Oncol. 2001 Aug 15;19(16):3622-34
11504744
Mayo Clin Proc. 2012 Apr;87(4):328-34
22469345
J Am Acad Dermatol. 1997 Aug;37(2 Pt 1):179-86
9270501
Mayo Clin Proc. 2014 Jan;89(1):52-9
24388022
Mayo Clin Proc. 1996 Mar;71(3):266-74
8594285
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2001 May;44(5):781-4
11312424
Mayo Clin Proc. 2007 Mar;82(3):364-80
17352373
Nat Rev Clin Oncol. 2010 Mar;7(3):148-52
20142815
Cancer. 2010 Feb 1;116(3):544-73
19998273
Cancer. 2000 May 15;88(10):2398-424
10820364
Clin Exp Dermatol. 2000 Sep;25(6):471-5
11044181
J Cancer. 2011;2:538-43
22084644
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2003 Oct;49(4):624-30
14512907
Mayo Clin Proc. 2012 Dec;87(12):1202-13
23199802
Cancer. 2000 Jul 15;89(2):342-7
10918164