Department of Oncologic Dermatology, Elias University Hospital, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania.
Institute of Doctoral Studies, Doctoral School of Medicine, Ovidius University of Constanta, Constanta, Romania.
Ital J Dermatol Venerol. 2024 Apr;159(2):128-134. doi: 10.23736/S2784-8671.24.07811-3.
Every year in Europe over 150,000 new cases of melanoma are reported and over 25,000 lives are lost to this tumor. Incidence has been rising rapidly, faster than for any other cancer, and it is expected to continue to do so in most regions. Mortality also crept up, decades-long, with only few very recent exceptions. Thus, melanoma remains a public health problem that will not go away soon, nor easy. Some notable progress has been made in the last decade in the fight against this tumor. Registration and reporting for skin cancers improved across Europe. Incidence trends have begun to plateau or even to descend in younger age groups, in some countries, and there are encouraging signs that mortality might do the same, after the recent therapeutic breakthroughs. Survival rates are on average above 80% at 5 years for European patients, while diagnosis trends toward ever thinner tumors. Yet this progress is far from uniform across the continent, with many Southern-and Eastern European countries still struggling with sub-optimal cancer reporting, delayed access to innovative treatments, late detection and insufficient healthcare funding, that push survival rates down to harrowing 50%. This article aims to give an updated overview of the epidemiological situation of melanoma in Europe, highlighting the progress but also the persisting disparities in tumor burden, prognosis and access to quality cancer care and surveillance between European countries, as a reminder that relentless efforts must continue in order to tackle this aggressive tumor in an effective and equitable manner.
每年在欧洲有超过 15 万例新的黑色素瘤病例被报道，超过 2.5 万人死于这种肿瘤。发病率一直在迅速上升，比任何其他癌症都要快，而且预计在大多数地区还会继续上升。死亡率也在上升，几十年来一直如此，只有最近的少数例外。因此，黑色素瘤仍然是一个公共卫生问题，短期内不会消失，也不容易解决。在过去的十年中，在对抗这种肿瘤方面取得了一些显著的进展。欧洲各地的皮肤癌登记和报告有所改善。在一些国家，年轻人群体的发病率趋势已经开始趋于平稳，甚至下降，而且有令人鼓舞的迹象表明，在最近的治疗突破之后，死亡率也可能出现同样的情况。欧洲患者的 5 年生存率平均在 80%以上，而诊断趋势是肿瘤越来越薄。然而，这种进展在整个欧洲大陆并不均衡，许多南欧和东欧国家仍在努力改善癌症报告不充分、创新治疗方法获取延迟、检测较晚和医疗保健资金不足的情况，这些情况将生存率压低到令人痛心的 50%。本文旨在概述欧洲黑色素瘤的流行病学情况，强调进展，但也强调了欧洲各国之间肿瘤负担、预后和获得高质量癌症护理和监测方面的持续差异，提醒人们必须继续不懈努力，以有效和公平的方式应对这种侵袭性肿瘤。
