More Americans develop skin cancer

A tourist sunbathes at Illetas beach on the Balearic island of Mallorca June 4, 2008. More Americans, particularly older men, have developed the deadly skin cancer melanoma, a new study showed. (Chinese media/Reuters Photo)
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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 11 (Chinese media) -- More Americans,

particularly older men, have developed the deadly skin cancer melanoma, a new

study showed.

The rate is increasing among all Americans and cannot

be due to better screening alone, researchers at the Stanford University Medical

Center (SUMC) said in the study published in the Jan. issue of the Journal of

Investigative Dermatology.

The rise in melanoma cases could indicate an epidemic

of skin cancer, the researchers warned.

"Melanoma rates are still going up, especially among

older white men," said lead researcher Dr. Eleni Linos, from the dermatology

department at SUMC. "This calls for greater awareness for patients, their

families and physicians."

The researchers based their study on data from the

Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program to identify new cases

of melanoma between 1992 and 2004. During that period, 70,596 cases of melanoma

were diagnosed among non-Hispanic whites in the United States, a 3.1-percent

increase a year, the study said.

The increased rate was for all types of melanoma and

for all thickness of tumors, said the study.

Moreover, the rate of melanoma doubled in all

socioeconomic groups, while deaths from the disease did not increase

significantly, according to the study.

While blaming tanning for a major cause, the

researchers called for strengthening public education to discourage people from

too much tanning.