ABSTRACT
Malignant melanoma arises from melanocytes and is the most serious form of skin cancer. Eight thousand new cases are diagnosed in the UK each year and this contributes to 3 per cent of all cancers.1 The lifetime risk is in excess of 1 in 200. Melanoma affects young individuals and is second only to adult leukaemia in terms of loss of years of potential life. The incidence of melanoma is rising by 5 per cent per year in white populations, with the greatest increase in men over 65 years of age.2 This rate of increase is more rapid than all other forms of cancer.1 Suggested reasons for the rapid rise in incidence are multi-factorial and probably are a result of a combination of increased sun exposure, increased amounts of UVB irradiation reaching the earth surface due to ozone depletion and earlier detection of melanoma.
