save your skin foundation

Last week, we posted a broad overview of the past ten years in melanoma statistics, drawn from the Canadian Cancer Society’s documents Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014, Special Topic: Skin Cancers and 2015, Special Topic: Predictions of the Future Burden of Cancer in Canada. This week, we’re going to focus on more geographically specific statistics; what is the melanoma landscape in your province like?

If you read last week’s post, you’ll know that in Canada, males are generally more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma than females. Over the past 25 years, the age standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of melanoma in Canadian males increased on average 2% yearly, while the ASIR of females increased but 1.5%; however, this percentage has jumped to 2.5% over the past eight years for females, likely due to the advent of tanning salons (2014 79). Between 1993 and 2009, men have seen a lifetime risk increase of 0.8%, while the lifetime risk increase rose 0.7% for women (79). Mortality statistics indicate that the melanoma death rates among Canadian males and females are consistent with diagnosis rates; the age standardized mortality rates (ASMR) have risen 1.2% yearly for males, 0.4% for females.

The higher melanoma incidence rates among men are also generally consistent from province to province, with the exception of Saskatchewan, in which the ASIR in 2010 saw 9.5 melanoma cases in every 100,000 males and 11.3 in every 100,000 females (2014 93, “Table 7.1”).

(2014 93, “Table 7.1 Annual Percent Change in Age-Standardized Incidence Rates (ASIR) for Melanoma of the Skin by Province and Sex, 1986-2010”)

The comparative incidence rate of melanoma in men is consistently higher in every province (except Saskatchewan), though, as indicated by the annual percent change being greater for Canadian females by 0.6% overall, melanoma rates among women are catching up. The greatest discrepancy between males and females is on Prince Edward Island, which has the highest provincial rate of melanoma in Canada for males (93, “Table 7.1”). The demographic with the lowest melanoma rate in Canada, as of 2010, was women in Newfoundland and Labrador (93, “Table 7.1”).

(2014 93, “Table 7.2 Annual Percent Change in Age-Standardized Mortality Rates (ASMR) for Melanoma of the Skin by Province and Sex, 1986-2009”)

Thankfully, the age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) for Canadians are considerably lower than the ASIR. “Table 7.2” indicates that while Nova Scotia has the highest melanoma mortality rate among both males and females, the mortality rates for both men and women on Prince Edward Island in 2009 were too low to be recorded, though “Table 7.1” cites PEI as having the highest incidence rate among Canadian provinces for men, and the second highest for women (the highest being Ontario). The mortality rate among women in Newfoundland and Labrador is also too low to be recorded; the lowest recorded mortality rates for both men and women are in Manitoba. It is notable that Quebec, while having one of the lower incidence rates among the provinces for both men and women, has similar mortality rates.

The Canadian Cancer Society states that “variations of melanoma prevalence by province […] largely reflect population size differences and but also differences in rates of melanoma diagnosis and survival” (2014 85), which are important factors to keep in mind when considering the above data. Thank you for reading, and thank you to the Canadian Cancer Society and their document Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014, Special Topic: Skin Cancers for the statistics!

Works Cited:
Canadian Cancer Society’s Advisory Committee on Cancer Statistics (2014). Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014. Web.

Welcome to the Save Your Skin Foundation media flashback- your weekly guide to the melanoma landscape, and the activities of the Save Your Skin Foundation! We hope you had a fabulous and sun safe Canada Day long weekend. Thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays, Save Your Skin was able to donate tickets to the Peer Project and to the melanoma survivors featured in our campaign with the Melanoma Network of Canada, #notjustskincancer to a game, at which they also ran the #notjustskincancer campaign! A blog post by Natalie Richardson of The Impatient Patient about the day can be found here. Thanks Blue Jays!

Also this week, Save Your Skin Founder Kathy Barnard was on Roundhouse Radio’s Impact with Don Shafer segment alongside Mary-Jo Dionne and Dr. Joel Claveau, discussing the importance of using sunscreen! Give it a listen here.

If you’re looking to catch up on some reading, check out our recent blog posts “Understanding the Pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (PCPA) and How it Affects Those Fighting Skin Cancer” and “Melanoma in Canada: A Short Review of the Past Ten Years”.

Here are some links we shared with you this week:

–This CTV News Atlantic interview with Dr. Ira Mellman about immunotherapy

–This article in Metro Vancouver (featuring Save Your Skin Founder Kathy Barnard!) about checking your loved ones’ moles for possible melanoma

–This response by the Urban Public Health Network to Environmental and Radiation Health Services Directorate’s document Consultation- Tanning Guidelines (warning: graphic images from page three onwards)

–This Medpage Today video featuring Dr. Omid Hamid on the promising trial treatment T-VEC

–This blog post by Save Your Skin’s pal Natalie Richardson over at The Impatient Patient about her sponsorship of the Meaford Soap Box Derby

–This Pacific Dermaesthetics piece about EltaMD suncare products

–This Huffington Post article about natural sunscreens

–This Science Explorer piece about the effects of chemotherapy on the body and mind

In the decade since the Save Your Skin Foundation began, the Canadian melanoma landscape has seen both positive and negative changes. Advances in treatment methods and greater availability of trial drugs has increased survivorship rates, yet melanoma remains one of the only preventable cancers that has not seen a decline in diagnosis’. Review of the data found in the Canadian Cancer Society’s Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014, Special Topic: Skin Cancers and 2015, Special Topic: Predictions of the Future Burden of Cancer in Canada reveals that more Canadians are being diagnosed with melanoma than ever before.
Melanoma diagnosis rates have risen considerably in the past decade; in 2006, it was estimated that melanoma accounted for 13.6 of every 100,000 male cancer diagnosis’, and 11 of every 100,000 female cancer diagnosis’. This number has climbed to 16.1/100,000 cases for males and 13.2/100,000 for females in 2015 (2015 26-27). Given that the largest risk factor for melanoma is UV exposure, it is possible that this rise is due to the increasing popularity of tanning beds; this suggestion is supported by the yearly increase of 2.9% of melanoma cases among women between 2001-2010, versus 2.3% per year for men between in the same time period (21). However, melanoma is still more prevalent in males than in females; the Canadian Cancer Society estimated that in 2014, 1 in 59 Canadian men would develop melanoma with a 1 in 290 mortality rate, while 1 in 73 Canadian women would develop melanoma with a 1 in 395 mortality rate (2014 78).
While these numbers are growing, so are the survival rates of melanoma in Canada. Based on their follow-up data from between 2004 and 2008, the Canadian Cancer Society found “the one-, five-, and [ten]-year predicted relative survival ratios (RSRs) [to be] 97%, 89% and 86% respectively” (83). The CCS also found that the five-year predicted relative survival ratio has risen “from 85% in 1992-1996 to 89% in 2004-2008” (83), likely due to the rise of new treatment opportunities for melanoma patients.
While the incidence and mortality rates are higher in adult than adolescent Canadians (2014 77), statistics demonstrate that childhood sun safety is critical. Skin cancer is the second most diagnosed among Canadian youth 15-35 years old (Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation, “About Skin Cancer”), and the Canadian Cancer Society has found links between intermittent and intense sun exposure (resulting in burns) in adolescence and the development of skin cancers later in life (2014 87). It is imperative that parents ensure their children are protected during their outdoor activities, not only during their summer activities but also while partaking in winter sports, as snow can reflect UV rays. Preventing sunburns in adolescence, and teaching children about sun safety, can reduce their chances of developing melanoma as an adult.
Maintaining a sun safe attitude is not just important as an adolescent; no tan is a safe tan, and exposure to UV rays at any stage in life can contribute to the development of melanoma! If you are interested in reading more about sun safety, Save Your Skin’s recent blog post on the topic can be found here. For more information about cancers in Canada, we recommend a read of the Canadian Cancer Society’s Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014, Special Topic: Skin Cancers and 2015, Special Topic: Predictions of the Future Burden of Cancer in Canada. Thank you for reading, and remember sun safety during your outdoor activities!

Works Cited:

Canadian Cancer Society’s Advisory Committee on Cancer Statistics (2014). Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014. Web.

Canadian Cancer Society’s Advisory Committee on Cancer Statistics (2015). Canadian Cancer Statistics 2015. Web.

Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation. “About Skin Cancer”. Web.