Florida’s year-round sunshine and intense ultraviolet exposure contribute to one of the nation’s heaviest skin cancer burdens, with older adults shouldering much of the impact. As the Sunshine State has the nation’s second-highest melanoma incidence rate, a new study from Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine reveals that melanoma continues to disproportionately affect Florida’s senior population, with persistent gaps in both diagnosis and mortality across sex, race, and ethnic groups.
Researchers conducted a population-based analysis of skin cancer incidence and mortality among Florida adults age 65 and older using data from the CDC’s WONDER database. The study examined diagnoses from 2018 to 2021 and deaths from 2018 to 2023, focusing on melanoma and other less common but more clinically aggressive skin cancers. The results, published in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology, revealed a striking pattern: older men in Florida experienced roughly twice as many skin cancer-related deaths as women across all years analyzed. Incidence rates and mortality patterns remained relatively stable over time, but the sex-based gap persisted throughout the study period.
Researchers attribute this disparity to a complex combination of factors, including lower rates of sun-protective behaviors and skin self-examinations among men, higher cumulative lifetime UV exposure in Florida’s high-risk environment, and biological sex differences in immune system function that may influence cancer progression and survival outcomes. Racial and ethnic disparities were also pronounced, with non-Hispanic populations experiencing significantly higher rates of skin cancer diagnoses and deaths than Hispanic populations, with melanoma occurring most frequently among white residents. However, researchers caution that these patterns may reflect a combination of true differences in risk as well as structural and social factors, including variations in access to dermatologic care, differences in health literacy, and disparities in how and where skin cancers are detected and diagnosed.
The study suggests that observed declines in incidence in certain years may reflect disruptions in screening, diagnosis and reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic rather than a true reduction in disease burden. Lea Sacca, Ph.D., senior author and assistant professor of population health in the Schmidt College of Medicine, emphasized that improving awareness of skin cancer risk, encouraging routine skin checks, and expanding culturally responsive education are critical steps toward reducing these disparities and improving outcomes across the state.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.newswise.com/articles/melanoma-cases-and-deaths-highest-among-florida-s-older-adults/?sc=rsla