Biomaterial Database

Melanoma mortality in middle-aged and older men, and older women in New Zealand. 1996

K R Cooke

Department of Preventive and social medicine, Otago Medical School, Dunedin, New Zealand.

An analysis was performed of factors that may contribute to the apparent excess of poor prognosis melanomas of the skin among men > or = 45 and women > or = 60 years of age, who experience 75% of all melanoma deaths in New Zealand. Following the start of a national melanoma awareness campaign, relevant general practice consultations with men > or = 55 increased 2.6-fold (95% CI: 2.1 to 3.6); consultations with men < 45 increased 5.1-fold (4.1 to 6.9). Men > or = 55 tended to have a longer duration of symptoms than men < 55. Age-standardized mortality rates increased consistently in the period from 1949 to 1989. The data suggest a birth cohort-dependent increase in melanoma mortality which appears to involve increased incidence and decreased case fatality rates, and which could explain at least part of the high proportion of lesions with poor prognosis that occur in middle-aged and older men, and older women.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D008297	Male		Males
D008545	Melanoma	A malignant neoplasm derived from cells that are capable of forming melanin, which may occur in the skin of any part of the body, in the eye, or, rarely, in the mucous membranes of the genitalia, anus, oral cavity, or other sites. It occurs mostly in adults and may originate de novo or from a pigmented nevus or malignant lentigo. Melanomas frequently metastasize widely, and the regional lymph nodes, liver, lungs, and brain are likely to be involved. The incidence of malignant skin melanomas is rising rapidly in all parts of the world. (Stedman, 25th ed; from Rook et al., Textbook of Dermatology, 4th ed, p2445)	Malignant Melanoma,Malignant Melanomas,Melanoma, Malignant,Melanomas,Melanomas, Malignant
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009520	New Zealand	A group of islands in the southwest Pacific. Its capital is Wellington. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and circumnavigated by Cook in 1769. Colonized in 1840 by the New Zealand Company, it became a British crown colony in 1840 until 1907 when colonial status was terminated. New Zealand is a partly anglicized form of the original Dutch name Nieuw Zeeland, new sea land, possibly with reference to the Dutch province of Zeeland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p842 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p378)
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260	Female		Females
D006266	Health Education	Education that increases the awareness and favorably influences the attitudes and knowledge relating to the improvement of health on a personal or community basis.	Community Health Education,Education, Health,Education, Community Health,Health Education, Community