Abstract
The incidence of melanoma is rising steadily around the world, with varying mortality trends among different populations. Particularly, incidence rates among young adults, below age 40 years, have increased dramatically in the past decades. In young adults, the gender predominance is switched, with the highest incidence occurring in young women. Multiple risk factors are associated with higher risk of developing melanoma. Intermittent sunlight exposure and use of tanning beds early in life increase significantly the risk of melanoma. The prevalence of tanning bed use among young women and adolescents is increasing continuously. This trend may be associated with the increase in melanoma incidence among young women. Efforts to implement new active interventions that will increase public awareness of melanoma and the risks of tanning bed use are crucial; regulations on tanning bed use especially among those underage should be implemented.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
This publication is supported in part by Mayo CTSA (grant number UL1TR000135) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. This review’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of NIH.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.
Key issues
• The incidence of melanoma continues to increase worldwide.
• Young women, under 40 years of age, are at increased risk of developing melanoma compared with men. However, higher survival is observed among women in this age group.
• Tanning bed use is associated with higher UVR exposures and higher risk of developing skin cancer; even one use of a tanning bed increases the risk of melanoma.
• Sunburns caused by natural sunlight or artificial UVR are both associated with higher risk of melanoma, particularly if those occurred before the age of 35 years.
• Knowledge of the risks associated with indoor tanning and unprotected sunbathing, may decrease the prevalence of its use and may decrease the incidence of melanoma.
Notes
Risk factors commonly associated with higher risk of developing melanoma. Data taken from Citation[53,70,72,75,80,83,93,112].