Study finds low melanoma incidence among Gozitans

A study has suggested that Gozitans have a low frequency of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

The people under examination in the Gozo Melanoma Screening Study also have a low frequency of pigmented "naevi", which are acknowledged as precursors of melanoma.

The screening project was initiated in Malta in November 2004 by Italian researchers Marco Burroni and Lucio Andreassi from Siena in collaboration with the Maltese Association of Dermatology and Venereology and the support of the Ministry for Gozo. Middlesea Valletta Life (MSV) are one of the project's co-sponsors. The programme has so far entailed the examination of about 2,000 persons over a three-year period in collaboration with Middlesea and Gozitan authorities including local councils and parish priests.

This project tests all the over-16 population of a complete geographical area.

Developed by Prof. Burroni and Giordana dell'Eva, the test is based on a computer-linked dermatoscope that enables assessment of certain characteristics of pigmented lesions that are not visible to the naked eye, thus providing an additional diagnostic aid to the dermatologist.