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Image Analysis
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Melanoma Identification
A few facts about melanoma
- Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. It can
spread through the whole body and is usually fatal if it does.
- If detected early, the cure rate for melanoma is almost 100
per cent. Late detection, when the melanoma is more than three millimetres
deep, results in only a 59 per cent survival rate.
- The diagnostic accuracy of all clinicians (including
specialists) is not high. Since most general practitioners (GPs) see only a
handful of melanomas in their career, it is unrealistic to expect them to
always diagnose correctly.
- Almost three quarters of a million skin cancer removal
operations are performed each year in Australia, costing over $300 million
to the Federal Government, and many of these are unnecessary.
- Excessive exposure to the sun is a key cause of skin cancer.
Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, due to its
geographical location and the fact that most of its inhabitants have fair
skins and enjoy an outdoor lifestyle. People are considered more at risk if
they have lots of moles, are fair skinned with blue eyes, tend to sunburn
easily or have freckles.
- Each year, melanoma claims the lives of over 1000 people in
Australia, 7700 people in the US and 1600 people in the UK.
- The rate of melanoma cases worldwide is increasing faster than
any other cancer, with an annualised rate increase of six percent. Since
1973, the mortality for melanoma has increased by 50 percent.
- Each year, nearly 8000 cases of malignant melanoma are diagnosed
in Australia compared to 6000 cases in the UK. Despite this, 600 more
people die from melanoma in the UK than in Australia annually.
- Decades of sun awareness campaigns, such as
SunSmart
have helped slow the rate of skin cancer deaths in Australia and, for women,
rates have even started to decline. These campaigns to promote safe sun
habits mean that more Australians are detecting skin cancers early,
increasing their chances of surviving the disease.
Some links for further information
Return to melanoma identification page
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last updated
September 10, 2009 04:09 PM
Ryan.Lagerstrom@csiro.au |
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