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Melanoma: cases on the rise in Italy

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Cases of melanoma in Italy are constantly increasing, the increase is 7% in men and women. This is a recent study done on the most aggressive skin cancer. Research results state that people born in the mid-1970s onwards have a decreased risk of cancer. This, after years of constant growth. The credit goes to prevention and a more correct exposure to the sun.

 

Easy triumphalisms must be avoided but we can admit that melanoma today could be less scary than in the recent past. Thanks to the combination of a continuous improvement in therapeutic strategies and a growing increase in early diagnoses, five-year survival has reached 87% and the figure rises to over 90% among the Italian population under 45. However, cancer remains. particularly insidious and affecting more than 14,900 men and women every year.

Dr. Emanuele Crocetti, epidemiologist and past-president of the Italian Cancer Registries Association

The first treatment for melanoma remains targeted and less invasive surgery , particularly in the early stages of the disease. Immunotherapy and target therapies have brought long-term benefits to more than half of those with advanced melanoma. On the other hand, a significant reduction in the risk of relapse has been reported in high-risk radically operated patients.

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A follow -up visit by a specialist dermatologist is recommended. Those who have many moles on their skin should check them at least once a year. This is to be able to monitor their evolution, arriving at a possible early diagnosis of the disease.

MelaMed was recently launched, a national initiative with the aim of training doctors in primary and secondary prevention of cutaneous melanoma. The initiative aims to provide related knowledge of the patient’s care pathway. It uses an online platform that represents a virtual library that is easy to consult and well complete with all the information on the pathology sought.

 

Again as IMI, with the coordination of Professor Paola Ghiorzo of the University of Genoa, we are promoting the genetic teleconsulting project. We provide specialists with an online path in order to identify patients with access criteria to genetic tests for the diagnosis of hereditary melanoma or syndromic conditions in which the neoplasm may be an associated clinical oncological sign.

Professor Giuseppe Palmieri of the University of Sassari and Director of Cancer Genetics of the National Research Council (CNR)

  • Cases of melanoma are growing in Italy (agi.it)

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