Science / Medicine : Melanoma on the Increase
<i> From Times staff and wire reports</i>
Melanoma, a sometimes-fatal skin cancer, is striking more people at a younger age than ever before, and an expert said the trend could get worse as a result of the thinning of atmospheric ozone. Dr. Darrell S. Rigel, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical School, said melanoma is now diagnosed in one of every 128 Americans, an increase of 1,500% compared with 1935.
Rigel told the American Academy of Dermatology’s annual meeting last week that an even more disturbing trend is that the ages of patients with melanoma are dropping dramatically. About 25% of the estimated 27,300 Americans diagnosed as having melanoma this year will be 39 or under, he said.
