Melanoma Statistics up to date at 2022.

There are so many articles dealing with skin cancer statistics. They are often outdated. In this article, Dr Peter Kim from Eastwood Skin Cancer Clinic will summarise the latest skin cancer statistics available at the time of writing, March 2022.

The diagram below is a snapshot of melanoma statistics.

New cases of melanoma

Melanoma of the skin was the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia in 2017. It is estimated that it will be the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in 2021.

In 2017, there were 14,846 new cases of melanoma of the skin diagnosed in Australia (8,747 males and 6,099 females). In 2021, it is estimated that 16,878 new cases of melanoma of the skin will be diagnosed in Australia (9,869 males and 7,009 females). In 2021, it is estimated that a person has a 1 in 18 (or 5.7%) risk of being diagnosed with melanoma of the skin by the age of 85 (1 in 15 or 6.7% for males and 1 in 22 or 4.6% for females).

Deaths from melanoma

In 2019, there were 1,405 deaths from melanoma of the skin in Australia (941 males and 464 females). In 2021, it is estimated that there will be 1,315 deaths (843 males and 472 females). In 2021, it is estimated that a person has a 1 in 246 (or 0.41%) risk of dying from melanoma of the skin by the age of 85 (1 in 188 or 0.53% for males and 1 in 356 or 0.28% for females).

Survival following a diagnosis with melanoma

In 2013–2017, individuals diagnosed with melanoma of the skin had a 92% chance (91% for males and 94% for females) of surviving for five years compared to their counterparts in the general Australian population. Between 1988–1992 and 2013–2017, five-year relative survival for melanoma of the skin improved from 89% to 92%.

Prevalence of melanoma

At the end of 2016, there were 14,271 people living who had been diagnosed with melanoma of the skin that year, 60,356 people living who had been diagnosed with melanoma of the skin in the previous 5 years (from 2012 to 2016) and 199,715 people living who had been diagnosed with melanoma of the skin in the previous 35 years (from 1982 to 2016).

early detection is key to survival.