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Statistics About Melanoma

statistics

Some people use statistics to try to figure out their chances of getting cancer or of being cured. However, statistics show what happens to large groups of people. Because no two people are alike, statistics can't be used to predict what will happen to a particular person.

Here are some 2009 statistics about melanoma from the American Cancer Society.

  • More than 68,720 people in the United States will get get melanoma this year.

  • During the 1970s, the rate of new cases of melanoma each year increased at about 6 percent per year. Since the 1980s, however, the rate of increase has slowed to a little less than 3 percent per year.

  • Melanoma is more often found in white people. They are about 10 times more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma than African Americans. Men are slightly more likely to have melanoma than women are.

  • Although melanoma rates are highest in older people, melanoma cancers occur in people of all ages. In fact, melanoma is one of the most common cancers in people under age 30.

  • About 8,650 people will die in 2009 from melanoma.

Online Medical Reviewer: Loescher, Lois PhD, RN
Online Medical Reviewer: Schwartzentruber, Doug MD
Online Medical Reviewer: Stump-Sutliff, Kim RN, MSN, AOCNS
Last Annual Review Date: 8/16/2009