Mortality rates for skin cancer are increasing, especially in men: study

Researchers say that the number of deaths from skin cancer among men has increased in rich countries since 1985, with female mortality rates increasing more slowly or even decreasing.

The reasons for the gender discordance are unclear, but the evidence suggests that men are "less likely to protect themselves from the sun" or follow public health warnings, told AFP's Dorothy Yang, senior researcher at the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust in London.

According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), more than 90% of melanoma cancers are caused by skin lesions due to exposure to the sun or other sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation such as the tanning beds.

In eight of the 18 countries examined, the mortality rate for skin cancer in men has increased by at least 50% over three decades.

In two countries – Ireland and Croatia – it has roughly doubled.

Spain and Great Britain (70%), the Netherlands (60%), as well as France and Belgium (50%) also recorded strong growth.

In the United States, which was not included in the study, mortality from male melanoma increased by about 25%, according to CDC statistics.

But new research has shown that countries with the highest increase in skin cancer deaths do not have the highest mortality rates.

In Australia, for example, nearly six out of every 100,000 men died of the disease in 2013-2015. This is twice the second highest mortality rate (Finland), but only an increase of 10% over 30 years earlier.

"Australia is one of the first actors in public health media campaigns conducted since the 1970s to promote" smart sun-facing "behavior," Yang told AFP by phone before to present their data at the 2018 National Cancer Research Institute Conference in the UK.

While the debate about Australia's record skin cancer rate is coming from the depletion of the ultraviolet-filtering ozone layer in the stratosphere, 30 years of public health campaigns have undoubtedly sensitized Australians to these dangers.

The so-called "ozone hole" was particularly important in Australia when efforts were launched.

In Australia, the number of deaths from skin cancer among women in 1985 was half that of men and decreased by 10% over the next 30 years, reported Yang and three of her colleagues.

Austria (9%), the Czech Republic (16%) and Israel (23%) also experienced a decline in female mortality due to the disease during the same period. In several other countries – Romania, Sweden and Great Britain – there have been slight increases.

However, in some sun-loving countries, the death rate for women has at least increased as much as men: in the Netherlands (58%), Ireland (49%), Belgium (67%) and Spain (74%). percent).

Japan has by far the lowest melanoma death rate among men and women at 0.24 and 0.18 per 100,000, respectively.

Scientists are investigating whether biological or genetic factors could also play a role in skin cancer, but the results obtained so far are inconclusive, Yang said.

© 2018 AFP