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General Statistics
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General Statistics

Melanoma Statistics at a glance:   

Which cancers were themost common in 2007?

In 2007, the most commonly reported cancerswere:

·        1) Prostate cancer(19,403 cases)

·        2) Bowel cancer (14,234cases)

·        3) Breast cancer (12,670cases)

·        4) Melanoma of the skin(10,342 cases)

5) Lung cancer (9,703 cases)

[These 5 cancer account for over half (61%) of thereportable cancers in 2007.] 

 

Wh What was the most common cancers for men in2007?

ExcExcluding basal cellcarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, the fmost common cancers were

·        Prostate19 403

·        Bowel7 804

·        Melanoma5 980

·        Lung5 948

·        Lymphomoid4 116

All these 5 cancers account for nearly three-quarters (70%) of all newcancers in males.  [1]

 

 

Wh Whatwas the most common cancer for women in 2007?

·        Breast12 567

·        Bowel6430

·        Melanoma4362

·        Lung3755

·        Lymphoid3160

 

All these 5 cancers account for two-thirds (65%) of all new cancersreported in 2007. [1]

 

Trends 

Between 1982 - 2007 cancer incidence rates increased for most of the common cancers including:

- melanoma

- non-Hodgkins lymphoma

- Liver cancer

- Mesothelioma 

 

Melanoma incidence has increased in both males and females since 1982.[1]

 

For males the incidence rate has more than doubled over the 26 year period from 27 per 100,000 to 57 per 100,000.

For females the incidence rate has increased by 47% from 26 per 100,000 to 38 per 100,000. [1]


T

Incidence of Melanoma in Young Persons

1)     In persons aged 15-44 melanoma and breast cancer are the most common cancers. 1

2)     Melanoma is the most common cancer in persons aged 15-24. [2]

3)     Cases of melanoma by age:  

Age

% of cases

< 35

9.90

35 - 54

31.70

55 - 74

38.30

> 75

20.10

Cost of Melanoma

 1)  The medical cost of treating melanoma during the 2001 financial year   is  estimated at 30 million dollars2 

2) The social and other costs of melanoma on the community such as loss of wages, disruption to family life, and reliance of persons on other community services is not measurable and extremely large. 2 

1 AIHW 2010. Cancer in Australia 2010: anoverview. Cancer series no. 60. Cat. no. CAN 56. Canberra: p23-29

 2 The Australian Government (2007) Skin cancer website www.australia.gov.au/skincancer. accessed Nov 2006.  

2 The Cancer Council Australia ( Summer 2006-2007) SUN Protection media information Kit. 

Prognosis Statistics

It was with hesitation and after much discussion that this section was added to the information available on the Melanoma Patients Australia website. The dilemma, as we see it, is providing patients with the information necessary to make informed decisions regarding their treatment strategy and personal situation without unnecessarily making them face what could be despairing probabilities.

It should also be noted that the statistics are in no way the full story and the following considerations should be taken into account when reading the statistics:

  • The statistics merely reflect the outcomes for a group of past patients that might not resemble your situation. Thus, as every patient’s case is different in some way so is the likely outcome.

  • The statistics lag behind constantly improving treatment technologies. For example, statistics published in the year 2000 report the outcomes of patients treated using technologies available in the year 1990 or possibly earlier.

  • We have all heard the expression ‘lies, dam lies and statistics’ indicating that statistics can be misleading. It should be remember that statistics are not an exact science and can be misleading unless used by an unbiased expert.

A contrived example to show how statistics can be misleading:

Patients admitted to the intensive care unit with head injuries have the below overall survival incidence:

Patients

Survival time

1

1 day

2

2 day

3

3 days

4

1 day

5

1 day

6

4 day

7

1 day

8

20 years

9

32 years

10

10 years

Average

6.2 years

From the above contrived example it is easy to see how the average survival time of 6.2 years doesn’t provide that much information about the underlying situation. Consequently, it would be silly for a patient who has survived 5 years to worry because they are approaching the 6.2 year mark. This is obviously an extreme example however more subtle relationships may underpin data with the same ability to mislead.

In conclusion, statistics are useful as a decision making tool when deciding between treatment protocols or treatment centers. However, it is considered that they are not useful in making predictions about your life expectancy. Despite the odds there are always survivours and as Hippocrates the father of modern medicine said “I would rather know the type of patient with the disease then the type of disease”.

Table 1

The National Health and Medical Research Council’s Clinical Practice guidelines (1999)

Reeve, Tom., Guidelines for the management of Cutaneous Melanoma: Australian Cancer Network., June 1999.

Table 2

American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging System for Cutaneous Melanoma

AJCC 2002 Revised Melanoma Staging

Stage

Histological Features/TNM Classification

Overall Survival

1-year

5-year

10-year

0

Intraepithelial/in situ melanoma (TisN0M0)

 


100%

100%

IA

< 1 mm without ulceration and Clark Level II/III (T1aN0M0)

 


95%

88%

IB

< 1 mm with ulceration or level IV/V (T1bN0M0)

 


91%

83%

1.01-2 mm without ulceration (T2aN0M0)

89%

79%

IIA

1.01-2 mm with ulceration (T2bN0M0)

 


77%

64%

2.01-4 mm without ulceration (T3aN0M0)

79%

64%

IIB

2.01-4 mm with ulceration (T3bN0M0)

 


63%

51%

> 4 mm without ulceration (T4aN0M0)

67%

54%

IIC

> 4 mm with ulceration (T4bN0M0)

 


45%

32%

IIIA

Single regional nodal micrometastasis, nonulcerated primary (T1-4aN1aM0)

 


69%

63%

2-3 microscopic regional nodes, nonulcerated primary (T1-4aN2aM0)

63%

57%

IIIB

Single regional nodal micrometastasis, ulcerated primary (T1-4bN1aM0)

 


53%

38%

2-3 microscopic regional nodes, ulcerated primary (T1-4bN2aM0)

50%

36%

Single regional nodal macrometastasis, nonulcerated primary (T1-4aN1bM0)

59%

48%

2-3 macroscopic regional nodes, nonulcerated primary (T1-4aN2bM0)

46%

39%

In-transit met(s)/satellite lesion(s) without metastatic lymph nodes (T1-4a/bN2cM0)

30-50%

 


IIIC

Single microscopic regional node, ulcerated primary (T1-4bN1bM0)

 

29%

24%

2-3 macroscopic regional nodes, ulcerated primary (T1-4bN2bM0)

24%

15%

4 or more metastatic nodes, matted nodes/gross extracapsular extension, or in-transit met(s)/satellite(s) and metastatic nodes (anyTN3M0)

27%

18%

IV

Distant skin, subcutaneous, or nodal mets with normal LDH (any TanyNM1a)

59%

19%

16%

Lung mets with normal LDH (anyTanyNM1b)

57%

7%

3%

All other visceral mets with normal LDH or any distant mets with increased LDH (anyTanyNM1c)

41%

9%

6%

Below thickness is defined as the thickness of the lesion using an ocular micrometer to measure the total vertical height of the melanoma from the granular layer to the area of deepest penetration. The Clark's level refers to levels of invasion according to depth of penetration of the dermis.
Adapted with permission from Balch et al. Final Version of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging System for Cutaneous Melanoma. J Clin Oncol 2001; 19:3635-3548. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.©