Girls are more aware than boys of the damage that the sun’s rays can cause and take better precautions, a study had found.
Launching the annual melanoma campaign which will peak on Melanoma Monday – May 17, Lawrence Scerri, the head of the Dermatology Unit at Boffa Hospital said that the incidence of melanoma was increasing the world over, including in Malta.
Between 1993 and 2008 there has been a mean increase of 84 per cent in the number of incidents, with the rate being slighty higher in women. The increase was throughout the ages but peaked in ages between 35 and 54. There was also an increase of 33.3 per cent in the mortality rate.
The campaign this year, Dr Scerri said, was focusing on younger people and the slogan being used was “Act Cool in the Sun”. According to a study among school children girls enjoyed greater awareness and were more concerned about the cosmetic complications. A total 60 per cent of girls against 35 per cent of boys worried about wrinkles.
Dr Scerri said that 50 per cent of girls and 70 per cent of boys said they had sunbathed between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the past.
It also seemed that mothers used sunscreen more than fathers. 82 per cent of children said their mother used sunsceen but only 60 per cent said their father did.
More structured education about sun awareness needed to be included in the school curriculum, he said.
Consultant dermatologist Michael Boffa said half the cases of melanoma were in the skin where there was no pre-existing mole, so one should not just cover a mole but all skin.
Melanoma, he said, was the least common but the most dangerous form of skin cancer.
It was common in the back in men and in the legs in women. Melanoma was normally recognised because of its assymetrical, irregular border, colour variations and a diametre of more than six millimetres. It also evolved over time.
Dr Boffa said that new moles were common in children and adolescents and were harmless but should be treated with suspician if they developed in adults. Melanoma was fatal in one in five cases.
Joseph Pace, the general secretary of the European Association of Dermatology and Venerology said that if melanoma was caught early on, it could be cured easily. But if it spread to the lymph nodes, the survival rate dropped to between 30 and 40 per cent. If it spread to vital organs, the survival rate dropped to 12 per cent.
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention director Charmaine Gauci said melanoma caused 75 per cent of global skin cancer deaths and the World Health Organisation estimated 48,000 deaths a year.
A melanoma screening clinic s being held at the Boffa Hospital on May 17, Screening is strictl by appointment, which may be set on 2298 7105 or 2298 7153.