Deadly Skin Cancer Cases Up Sharply

The deadliest of skin cancers has gotten deadlier.

The number of people diagnosed with melanoma rose about 4 percent a year from 1973 to 1991, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was faster than any other kind of cancer.

And the rate of melanoma deaths rose by 34 percent, from 1.6 per 100,000 people in 1973 to nearly 2.2 in 1992, the CDC reported. Melanoma causes about three-quarters of all deaths from skin cancer.

Researchers blame the increase on the popularity of outdoor recreation and tanning, despite the recent proliferation of sunscreens and more people knowing about the sun’s dangers, said Barbara Bewerse, a public health educator for the CDC. As few as three severe sunburns during childhood appears to raise the risk of melanoma, she said.

Twice as many men die from melanoma as women.