The rise in melanoma incidence in Croatia

The incidence of skin cancer, and particularly of cutaneous melanoma, has increased substantially over the recent decades. It has generally been assumed that early diagnosis may in fact be responsible for a part of incidence increase. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence and distribution of primary cutaneous melanoma among biopsy specimens during the 1991-2000 period. The Surgical Pathology computerized registry was used to identify patients with primary cutaneous melanoma. The distribution of primary cutaneous melanoma according to Clark showed an increased number of melanoma in situ diagnosed during the 1997-2000 period. It could not be definitely concluded whether these data resulted from more common excision of suspicious pigmented skin lesions or there was an increase in the melanoma rate as a consequence of environmental changes. Fortunately, nowadays new patients with cutaneous melanoma are mostly diagnosed early in the clinical course of disease when it can be successfully managed by simple surgical treatment.