Facts of Skin Cancer and Other Sun Damage Related Issues

MELANOMA

• The vast majority of mutations found in melanoma are caused by ultraviolet radiation.
• Melanoma accounts for about three percent of skin cancer cases but it causes more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths.
• The survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early, before the tumor has penetrated the epidermis, is about 99 percent. The survival rate falls to 15 percent for those with advanced disease.
• Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old.
• A person's risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns at any age.

ETHNICITY

• Asian American and African American melanoma patients have a greater tendency than Caucasians to present with advanced disease at time of diagnosis.
• The average annual melanoma rate among Caucasians is about 22 cases per 100,000 people. In comparison, African Americans have an incidence of one case per 100,000 people.
• While melanoma is uncommon in African Americans, Latinos, and Asians, it is frequently fatal for these populations.
• Melanomas in African Americans, Asians, Filipinos, Indonesians, and native Hawaiians most often occur on non-exposed skin with less pigment, with up to 60-75 percent of tumors arising on the palms, soles, mucous membranes and nail regions.
• Among non-Caucasians, melanoma is a higher risk for children than adults: 6.5 percent of pediatric melanomas occur in non-Caucasians.

INDOOR TANNING

• Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
• Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose .
• Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. every year; 2.3 million of them are teens.
• Seventy one percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women aged 16-29.
• People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.

PEDIATRICS

• Melanoma accounts for up to three percent of all pediatric cancers.
• Melanoma is seven times more common between the ages of 10 and 20 than it is between 0 and 10 years.
• Ninety percent of pediatric melanoma cases occur in girls aged 10-19.
• One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.

  MELANOMA

  • The vast majority of mutations found in melanoma are caused by ultraviolet radiation.
  • Melanoma accounts for about three percent of skin cancer cases but it causes more than 75 percent of skin cancer deaths.
  • The survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early, before the tumor has penetrated the epidermis, is about 99 percent. The survival rate falls to 15 percent for those with advanced disease.
  • Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old.
  • A person's risk for melanoma doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns at any age.

  ETHNICITY

  • Asian American and African American melanoma patients have a greater tendency than Caucasians to present with advanced disease at time of diagnosis.
  • The average annual melanoma rate among Caucasians is about 22 cases per 100,000 people. In comparison, African Americans have an incidence of one case per 100,000 people.
  • While melanoma is uncommon in African Americans, Latinos, and Asians, it is frequently fatal for these populations.
  • Melanomas in African Americans, Asians, Filipinos, Indonesians, and native Hawaiians most often occur on non-exposed skin with less pigment, with up to 60-75 percent of tumors arising on the palms, soles, mucous membranes and nail regions.
  • Among non-Caucasians, melanoma is a higher risk for children than adults: 6.5 percent of pediatric melanomas occur in non-Caucasians.

  INDOOR TANNING

  • Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  • Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose .
  • Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. every year; 2.3 million of them are teens.
  • Seventy one percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women aged 16-29.
  • People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.

  PEDIATRICS

  • Melanoma accounts for up to three percent of all pediatric cancers.
  • Melanoma is seven times more common between the ages of 10 and 20 than it is between 0 and 10 years.
  • Ninety percent of pediatric melanoma cases occur in girls aged 10-19.
  • One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life.