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. 2020 Oct 23;9(11):3396.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9113396.

Incidence of Melanoma in Catalonia, Spain, Is Rapidly Increasing in the Elderly Population. A Multicentric Cohort Study

Sebastian Podlipnik  1   2 , Cristina Carrera  1   2   3 , Aram Boada  4 , Nina Richarz  4 , Joaquim Marcoval  5 , Josep Ramón Ferreres  5 , Domingo Bodet  6 , Rosa María Martí  7 , Sonia Segura  8 , Mireia Sabat  9 , Joan Dalmau  10 , Mònica Quintana  11 , Antoni Azon  12 , Neus Curcó  13 , Manel Formigon  14 , María Rosa Olivella-Garcés  15 , Pedro Zaballos  16 , Joaquim Sola  17 , Loida Galvany  18 , Carola Baliu-Piqué  19 , Marta Alegre  20 , Paola Pasquali  21 , Josep Malvehy  1   2   3 , Susana Puig  1   2   3 , On Behalf Of The Network Of Melanoma Centres Of Catalonia
Affiliations

Incidence of Melanoma in Catalonia, Spain, Is Rapidly Increasing in the Elderly Population. A Multicentric Cohort Study

Sebastian Podlipnik et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

The incidence of melanoma has been increasing worldwide during recent decades. The objective of the study was to analyse the trends in incidence for in situ and invasive melanoma in the Spanish region of Catalonia during the period of 2008-2017. We designed a cross-sectional study with an age-period-cohort analysis of melanoma patient data from the Network of Melanoma Centres in Catalonia. Our database covered a population of over seven million and included a total of 8626 patients with incident melanoma. The main outcome measures were crude and age-standardised incidence rates to the European 2013 standard population. Joinpoint regression models were used to evaluate the population trends. We observed an increase in the age-standardised incidence rate (per 100,000 population) of all melanoma subtypes from 11.56 in 2008 to 13.78 in 2017 with an average annual percent change (AAPC) of 3.5%. This incidence increase was seen exclusively in the older population. Moreover, the stratified analysis showed a statistically significant increase in the age-standardised incidence rate for invasive (AAPC 2.1%) and in situ melanoma (AAPC 6.5%). In conclusion, the incidence of melanoma has continued to increase in the elderly population over recent decades, with a rapidly increasing trend of in situ melanomas and the lentigo maligna subtype.

Keywords: Spain; epidemiology; incidence; melanoma; population-based study; skin cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. The sponsors had no role in the design and conduct of the study; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data, nor in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of invasive and in situ melanomas.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends in the incidence of melanoma in Catalunya. Abbreviations: ALM, acral lentiginous melanoma, LMM, lentiginous malignant melanoma; SSM, superficial spreading melanoma.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Joinpoint regression analysis of melanoma age-standardised incidence rate. European age-standardised incidence rate trends for melanoma lesions in Catalonia in the period 2008–2017. Squares shapes represent the observed values and dashed lines represent the joinpoint models. (*) APCs were significantly different from zero at alpha = 0.05. Abbreviations: APC, annual percent change.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Pyramid plot in (A) shows that cases occur at younger ages in women showing a double peak of incidence; however, in men they present in a single peak of incidence at older ages. (B) shows a ridgeline with the distribution trend across the years of the study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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