Changing epidemiology of malignant melanoma in Queensland

Information provided by Queensland pathology laboratories shows that the annual incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma in Queensland has doubled from 16 per 100 000 population in 1966, to 32.7 per 100 000 in 1977. The incidence in males, and the males to females ratio have increased. The major sites of the tumour remain the same, except possibly for a reduction in the number of leg tumours in females in tropical Queensland. More tumours with an in-situ component of Hutchinson's melanotic freckle type are being diagnosed. The tumours diagnosed in 1977, compared with those in the Queensland Melanoma Project files from 1963 to 1969, are more superficial (Level 1 or Level 2), with nonelevated profile and smaller diameter. The findings suggest that the disease is being diagnosed and treated earlier.