Around 50 new cases of skin cancer or melanoma are diagnosed every year and the disease claims the lives of 10 people annually, according to Health Parliamentary Secretary Chris Fearne.
The disease affects all ages, even people in their early 20s, Mr Fearne said yesterday during the launch of the annual melanoma awareness campaign. Lawrence Scerri, chairman of the dermatology department, explained that melanoma was one of the most serious forms of skin cancer with regard to mortality. It can develop anywhere on the skin and within a mole that already exists in around 30 to 50 per cent of the cases.
Melanoma is usually caused by exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. There is a strong relationship between cases of sunburn in childhood and the development of melanoma in adulthood. However, the good news is that early detection of the cancer, and its surgical removal, leads to an excellent survival rate of around 95 per cent.
On the other hand, cases of melanoma are on the rise in Malta and the number of deaths from the disease rose by 76 per cent between 1993 and 2014. There were 718 cases diagnosed in this period – 323 men and 395 women – and 130 deaths. The number of new cases rose by 103 per cent in women and 78 per cent in men. Mr Scerri explained that the campaign between the Maltese Association of Dermatology and Venereology and the Health Promotion Department had two main aims: prevention by reducing the risk of melanoma through sun protection, and early detection.
Euro-Melanoma Day, or Melanoma Monday, will take place on May 11. The public can go to the screening clinic in Boffa Hospital to check out any suspicious moles. Book a screening by calling 2298 7105 or 2298 7153. As part of the awareness campaign, the government will be organising refresher talks for family doctors to remind them about the importance of early detection.
In the future, electronic devices used in the medical field – known as tele-medicine – could also help with early detection, he said.
How to detect melanoma
Melanoma usually appears as a brown/black patch or lump on the skin with irregular features.
The ABCDE criteria provide a useful guide for diagnosing melanoma:
A: Asymmetry (melanoma patches are asymmetrical)
B: Border (melanoma has an irregular border)
C: Colour (melanoma consists of more than one shade)
D: Diameter (melanoma is usually larger than 6mm)
E: Evolution (recent change in size, shape and colour, spontaneous bleeding and irritation)