Watch for higher melanoma death risk in Black men

Skin cancer diagnosis rates are on the rise across the developed world. Between 1975 and 2018, melanoma incidence rates in the United States more than tripled – from 7.9 to 25.3 cases per 100,000 people – according to a study published in 2021. Today, melanoma represents the fifth-most common type of cancer in the country. The reasons for this increase are wide-ranging, from longer life spans to increased ultraviolet radiation exposure.  While more people have been diagnosed with melanoma, patients with this type of skin cancer are facing increasingly better survival odds overall. Since 2013, the death rate from melanoma among all patients has fallen by more than a quarter, per data from the National Cancer Institute. Approvals in the last decade for novel treatment methods for advanced cases of melanoma, such as immunotherapy, are contributing to the overall improving survival rates.  But as is true with other health outcomes, mortality rates vary significantly among racial and ethnic groups in the country. Black Americans have a 26% higher risk of death from melanoma than white Americans, according to a study released in July 2023, with Black men experiencing the lowest survivability rate of any racial demographic despite having lower rates...