Melanoma Incidence Anomalies reported in Florida
A recent study of melanoma among minorities in Florida found startling anomalies that do not comport with national trends. The study not only provides new insights into what may be happening in states with high UVR rates, it suggests further avenues of study that could shed light on minority behaviors.
Researchers evaluated data on more than 36,000 melanoma patients in the Florida Cancer Data System and over 73,000 patients in the national Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) databases between 1992 and 2004.
The findings of this comprehensive study are startling. Compared to national rates, melanoma incidence among Hispanic men was 20% higher than the national norm. The incidence of melanoma in Florida is 60% higher in black women, but 30% lower for Hispanic women.
Researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine who conducted the study suggest that similar research be carried out in states with high UVR, including Texas and California to determine if these trends conform with others. And, we hope someone will pick up this important challenge.
However, the tantalizing question is why? Why the higher melanoma incidence in Latino men, but not Latino women? What is happening to black women? What are the specific behaviors at the bottom of these stats? And what are the attitudes that cause the behaviors?
We don’t yet know, but a study conducted last year goes some way in suggesting the answers at least for the Latino segment of the population.
Latinos and Acculturation
A small, but suggestive survey published in 2009 found that Latinos leave behind sun safety habits when they move to the US.
This is the finding of a study published in the April 2009 edition of American Journal of Public Health, led by Valentina Andreeva, a research assistant at the Keck School’s Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research.
The study found that sun protective behaviors dropped off sharply depending upon the extent of acculturation, that is, the length of time spent in the U.S.
The study is small, a survey of 496 Latino respondents. But it may provide one explanation for the 32.4% rise in diagnosed melanomas among Latinos in the U.S. from 2001 to 2005.
The above mentioned studies, although important, pose more question than they answer.
What we know for sure is that they are positive indications that more education is needed for this segment of the population. People of color – Latinos, Asians, African American and others – are being diagnosed more and more frequently with skin cancers, particularly melanoma, and the diagnosis is typically made at later stages of the disease than for whites.
Programs for schools, municipalities, outdoor workers and general practitioners should be created specifically for people of color. These programs should be available in Spanish as well as English and should address the importance of both sun protection and routine detection.
SunAWARE is working to create such programs.
We want everyone to Be Safe and Be SunAWARE.
