Cutaneous Melanoma in Women

The incidence of cutaneous melanoma (CM) continues to increase in the Caucasian population in the United States. In 2014, women only accounted for 42% of the 76,100 new melanoma cases and only 33% of the 9,710 deaths associated with CM in the US.¹ These trends are consistently observed in populations around the world. Indeed, gender disparity in melanoma outcome is so consistently observed that gender has been suggested as an important prognostic factor in melanoma, despite not being formerly incorporated in staging algorithms.² The source of this gender disparity in melanoma remains unclear but likely represents both biological and behavioral etiologies. Herein, we review the current knowledge of how melanoma differs between men and women.