Melanoma Incidence and Deaths Disproportionately Impact Men

THURSDAY, June 11, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Melanoma disproportionately affects seniors and men, according to a research letter published in the June issue of the Journal of Geriatric Oncology.Megha Srivastav, from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and colleagues analyzed skin cancer incidence (2018 to 2021) and underlying causes of mortality due to skin cancer (2018 to 2023) among adults aged 65 years and older in Florida, using deidentified death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database.The researchers found that skin cancer incidence rates were higher in men than women throughout the study period, excluding basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma (BCC/SCC), with male skin cancer crude rates ranging from 171.0 per 100,000 population in 2020 to 196.2 per 100,000 population in 2018. Female skin cancer crude rates ranged from 71.3 to 76.4 per 100,000 population. Over the years, overall crude rates for cancer incidence by sex were relatively stable or slightly declined. For both men and women, peak cancer incidence for skin (excluding BCC/SCC) and melanoma of the skin occurred in 2021. Peak cancer incidence for other nonepithelial skin cancers occurred in 2018, with the lowest incidence occurring in 2020 for both men and women. Across all years, there was a consistent trend with crude death rate and percentage of total deaths increasing with age. The lowest crude rates and percentage of total deaths were consistently seen in the 65- to 74-year-old age group, while the age group aged 85 years and older had the highest crude rates and percentage of total deaths. Deaths among men occurred at approximately twice the number of women across all years. The percentage of total deaths for men ranged from 67.1 percent in 2022 to 74.5 percent in 2023, while the range for women was 32.9 percent in 2022 to 25.5 percent in 2023."Taken together, our findings suggest that skin cancer in Florida is driven not only by ultraviolet exposure, but also by behavioral patterns, biological factors, and persistent gaps in prevention and early detection -- particularly among older men," senior author Lea Sacca, Ph.D., also from Florida Atlantic University, said in a statement.Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Melanoma Incidence and Deaths Disproportionately Impact Men

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