Dermatologist Detection and Skin Self-examination Are Associated With Thinner Melanomas

Abstract
INCIDENCE RATES of cutaneous melanoma are continuing to increase in white populations worldwide.1 To the contrary, recent figures of melanoma-related mortality show a tendency to level off in many countries.2 This apparent discrepancy between incidence and mortality can be explained by the fact that only the incidence rates of "thin" melanomas, associated with a favorable prognosis, are increasing.3,4 This finding derives, at least in part, from the improvement of early diagnosis of melanoma achieved in past decades.5
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