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Death rate from malignant melanoma 70% greater for men than women in UK
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Men with malignant melanoma had a 70% higher death rate compared with women, according to recent statistics released by Cancer Research UK.
There were 3.4 men per 100,000 compared with 2.0 women per 100,000 who die from malignant melanoma annually in the United Kingdom, according to a press release. Disease incident rates were similar, however, with 17.2 men per 100,000 compared with 17.3 women per 100,000.
One thousand three hundred of the 6,200 men who develop melanoma annually in the UK will die from the disease, while 900 of 6,600 women during the same time will die. That gap is predicted to widen, the release said.
Death rates for melanoma among men have increased by 185% since the early 1970s compared with 55% in women, according to Cancer Research UK. Melanomas are found more commonly on the back and chest in men, while in women lesions typically are on the arms and legs.
“Research has suggested that the difference between sexes could be in part because men are more likely to be diagnosed when melanoma is at a more advanced stage,” Julia Newton-Bishop, MD, a Cancer Research UK dermatologist based at the University of Leeds, said in the release. “But there also seem to be strong biological reasons behind the differences, and we’re working on research to better understand why men and women’s bodies deal with their melanomas in different ways.”
“One of the reasons for the differences may be attitudes toward seeing a doctor,” Sara Hiom, director of early diagnosis at Cancer Research UK, said. “We tend to be reluctant to ‘waste the doctor’s time’ — men are especially likely to put it off.”
Cancer Research UK also released skin cancer mortality statistics.