Epidemiological survey of melanoma in the Auvergne region (France): Is there an increased incidence in Auvergne?

Abstract

To assess the efficiency of melanoma screening and prevention campaigns in the Auvergne region (France), cases of melanoma have been recorded since 1st June 1998. The epidemiological follow-up of melanoma was carried out using two sentinel networks; one involving the pathologists, and the other, the dermatologists of the region. Incidence was calculated using the capture-recapture method, by cross-matching the data supplied by both dermatologists and pathologists. Between June 1st 1998 and December 31st 2000, 363 cases of melanoma were recorded. The crude incidence rate of melanoma per 100,000 person-years was 17.1 for all melanomas and 14.6 for invasive melanomas. These rates of incidence were higher than the estimated national rate of France, and were close to incidences found in countries of Northern Europe. This might be explained by an increase in screening for melanoma, by more precise estimation of the incidence due to the capture-recapture method, or by geographic factors (mountainous area). An answer may be provided by following the variation in time of incidence and thickness of melanomas; the increase in the number of thin (low Breslow index) melanomas corresponding with increased screening.

Clinical and pathological characteristics of melanoma: a population‐based study in a French regional population

“…General data about melanoma incidence and mortality are widely available for most developed countries 1–9 . However, more detailed information about the clinical and pathological characteristics of melanomas on population bases are often missing.…”

“…As in most western countries, cutaneous melanoma represents a major public health challenge in France, and has been the subject of numerous studies in France and in Europe, which report mainly data on incidence and mortality. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] In France, mortality data are taken from the analysis of death certificates by the centre for epidemiology and research into causes of death (CepiDc, INSERM). In 2005, the world-standardized mortality rate from melanoma was estimated to be 1.6 per 100 000 inhabitants per year in men and 1.1 in women.…”

Epidemiology and clinical and pathologic characteristics of cutaneous malignant melanoma in Abruzzo (Italy)

“…We were unable to apply the capture–recapture method in our survey, as performed in similar studies, 12 for several reasons: the number of dermatologists (private practitioners and hospital‐based) in the area is very high, but very few possess a good record of their patients; in addition, a small percentage of dermatologists, especially those operating on borders with neighboring regions, send biopsy specimens to private pathology practices.…”

Epidemiology of Melanoma

“…In countries with both high and low-latitude locations, regions of higher altitude have been associated with higher melanoma incidence (60)(61)(62)(63). Similarly there are significantly higher incidence rates among individuals who regularly partake in high-altitude activities like mountaineering (64).…”