Melanoma can be a deadly disease. And for many years, apart from surgically removing the tumor, there was little else medicine had to offer if the cancer had spread to other organs. In fact melanoma mortality rates increased by 7.5 percent from 1986 to 2013. However, now there is a whole new armamentarium at the disposal of the oncologist. Ten new treatments for metastatic melanoma were approved by the FDA beginning in 2011. As a result, overall mortality decreased by 17.9 percent from 2013 to 2016. “This is the first report of a statistically significant, multiyear reduction in the mortality rate for cutaneous melanoma across an entire nation,” the authors write. The research that has been going on for many years is now bearing fruit. Lets hope the trend continues as new innovations continue to be developed.

Article Citation:

New Systematic Therapies and Trends in Cutaneous Melanoma Deaths Among US Whites, 1986–2016

Juliana Berk-Krauss MD, Jennifer A. Stein MD, PhD, Jeffrey Weber MD, PhD, David Polsky MD, PhD, and Alan C. Geller RN, MPH

Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print March 19, 2020: e1–e3. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305567