Trends of cutaneous melanoma in The Netherlands: increasing incidence rates among all Breslow thickness categories and rising mortality rates since 1989

Background: It has been debated that the epidemic of melanoma is largely due to overdiagnosis, since increases in incidence were mainly among thin melanomas and mortality rates remained stable. Our objective was to examine this controversy in The Netherlands. Patients and methods: Information on newly diagnosed melanoma patients was obtained from The Netherlands Cancer Registry. European Standardized Rates and estimated annual percentage change were calculated for the period 1989–2008. Cohort-based, period-based and multivariate survival analyses were carried out. Results: The incidence rate o... Mehr ...