Surg Cosmet Dermatol. 2019;11(4):287-294
INTRODUCTION: In Brazil, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer, and melanoma is the most lethal.
OBJECTIVES: To analyze the temporal trend of mortality due to melanoma in Brazil between 2000 and 2016.
METHODS: Ecological time-series study involving all deaths from melanoma in Brazil from 2000 to 2016. The crude death rate, adjusted for the Brazilian population and the world population, was analyzed. For the analysis, we used the regression model by inflection point with 5% significance.
RESULTS: In the period, 22,963 deaths from melanoma were recorded in Brazil, with an increasing trend in the crude death rate (2.6%), and in the adjusted rates for the Brazilian (0.6%) and the world population (0.5%). In the Southeast, we observed a steady trend in the crude death rate and the adjusted rate for the Brazilian population, as well as a decreasing trend in the world population rate. The crude death rate (77.77%; n=21); the Brazilian population (59.25%; n=16), and the world population adjusted rates (55.55%; n=15) presented an increasing trend. Only São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro showed a decreasing trend in the death rate adjusted for the Brazilian and the world population.
CONCLUSIONS: The study showed an increase in mortality from melanoma in Brazil. Policies should be implemented to favor early diagnosis and timely treatment.
Keywords: Melanoma; Time series studies; Epidemiology