Fewer Americans dying of deadly form of skin cancer

CANCER DIGEST – March 28, 2020 – Death rates for metastatic melanoma, the aggressive form of skin cancer that spreads from the skin to other organs, such as the lung, liver, or brain dropped by nearly 18 percent between 2013 and 2016 a new population study shows.
Led by researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, and Harvard University, the study showed that between 1986 and 2013, deaths climbed 7.5 percent between 1986 and 2013, but then dropped sharply over the next three years. The report was published online March 19 in the American Journal of Public Health.

That period coincides with with the introduction of 10 new therapies for the skin cancer. These treatments either harness the body's immune system to fight the disease or directly target melanoma cells that have a specific gene mutation.

The authors say the size of the decline outstrips comparable decreases in cancers of the prostate, breast, and lung, three other common forms of cancer. is the first to highlight the role of these new drugs in helping Americans survive melanoma.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, melanoma is among the most common forms of cancer in the United States, with about 78,000 new cases occurring each year and overwhelmingly affects white people with 73,000 of those new cases.

Melanoma has been notoriously difficult to treat after tumors spread throughout the body, and conventional treatment methods such as chemotherapy have limited effect against the disease.

While the specific causes of melanoma are unclear, genetics and exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation in sunlight and tanning beds are known to increase risk, particularly among fairer-skinned people.

Source: NYU Langone Health press release