MONDAY, Jan. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Rates of invasive melanoma have increased among Hispanics in California since 1988, and tumors tend to be thicker and have a poorer prognosis when they are diagnosed, according to a report published online Jan. 23 in Cancer.
Myles G. Cockburn, Ph.D., and colleagues from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles examined trends in melanoma incidence and mortality among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites using 1988-2001 data from the California Cancer Registry.
Melanoma rates significantly increased at a rate of 1.8% per year in Hispanic males, with a 7.3% annual increase between 1996 and 2001. The percentage of tumors greater than 1.5 mm thick increased by 15.4% annually in Hispanic males and by 8.9% annually in Hispanic females. These thick tumors accounted for 35.4% of melanomas in Hispanic males, but only 24.4% of melanomas in non-Hispanic white males, the researchers found.
"Rates of invasive melanoma have increased markedly among Hispanics in California since 1988," Cockburn and colleagues conclude. "We recommend that efforts be undertaken immediately to target both primary and secondary melanoma prevention messages to Hispanic communities."
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