Malignant melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. While rare in children, it's the most common skin cancer among those 20 and under in the U.S. and has been significantly increasing since 2004.
A new study in the journal Pediatrics looks more closely at the gender, age and stage of young patients being diagnosed with the disease.
Using data from over three decades, the researchers identified 1,230 children with malignant melanoma. Crunching the numbers further, they found that pediatric melanoma increased an average of 2% per year from 1973 to 2009.
Teenage girls ages 15 to 19 had significantly higher rates of malignant melanoma than boys and younger children. Girls were more often diagnosed on the lower limbs and hips. Boys on the face and trunk.
The researchers say the next step is to determine risk factors for adolescent melanoma.
The one bit of good news, melanoma survival rates have also increased since the 1970s. The five-year survival rate is nearly 100% for cases diagnosed early.
And that's today's news from HealthDay TV, your source for healthier living
Source: www.nlm.nih.gov
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