Melanoma cutâneo: estudos de base populacional no Brasil

Abstract

Editorial 402 In the past decades, the cutaneous melanomas (CM) have shown increased incidence in several developed countries and, in some of them, the mortality rates tend to stabilize. In Brazil, there has been an increased incidence, as well as an increase in mortality rates, which is better demonstrated in certain subpopulation groups.In Rio Grande do Sul, for instance, estimated data of the INCA, in 2005, demonstrated that the incidence of cutaneous melanomas presented an over three-fold increase in women and it almost doubled in men, in less than 20 years. By and large, the state capitals have more CM cases than inland. The estimated incidence for women in Porto Alegre, in 2005, was 10.32/100000 inhabitants, and it was slightly under the rates for English women, which was 11.2/100000, in 2000. On the other hand, these rates were exceeded by women in Florianopolis, with an incidence of 12.2/100000 inhabitants, in 2005.Although these data point out to the importance of cutaneous melanomas in the scenario of cancers in Brazil, the real magnitude of the problem is unknown, mainly due to lack of compulsory notification, lack of central record for neoplasms and little attention paid to the problem in certain geographic areas because of low incidence of the malignancy and predominance of dark-skinned individuals.The Brazilian population has a significant heterogeneity of skin types in each region of the country, resulting from variable participation of several ethnic groups. Therefore, it is reasonable that the epidemiology of melanomas differ according to the region studied, and it is important that every research aiming to map the characteristics of this tumor in different areas in Brazil, take into account the variety of skins found in the population.Most studies published are based on hospital data, and related to researches carried out by groups interested specifically in neoplasms, and there are scarce population-based studies that could contribute to real knowledge of the problem in the country. Hence, the article by Sortino-Rachou AM, Curado MP and Latorre MRDO -"Cutaneous melanoma: population-based study in Goiania, Brazil, from 1988 to 2000", published in this issue of the Anais Brasileiros of Dermatologia, is most welcome. It analyzes the incidence and mortality of CM, in a record with 96.6% of histopathologic confirmation, in that city in the Central Region of Brazil.The study demonstrates incidences in both sexes that are much lower than those in the Southern Region, but it also shows a trend towards increase along time. The incidence is higher in women than in men, which is similar to what occurs in Southern Brazil, where melanomas are more frequent. This phenomenon might be related to cultural habits of excessive sun exposure for aesthetic purposes, which are common in the country.It is worth noting that over 80% of pathologic reports did not present a morphological classification, nor other parameters considered for prognosis, thus indicating another problem, that is, lack of uniformity in CM l...

Perfil clinicoepidemiológico dos melanomas cutâneos em duas instituições de referência na cidade de Manaus, Brasil

“…Lack of compulsory notification, lack of a central register and insufficient attention from public health managers because of the low prevalence of the disease in certain geographical areas are obstacles that must be overcome in order to gain a better understanding of the problem and implement control actions. 1 The objective of the present study was to calculate the frequency of cutaneous melanoma and evaluate its clinical and epidemiological characteristics in two secondary referral centers in dermatology in the city of Manaus, northern region of Brazil. All the charts from patients with a diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma who received care between 2002 and 2007 were included in the study.…”

Dermatologia na pele negra

“…109 Com relação ao melanoma, a heterogeneidade dos tipos de pele da população brasileira torna sua epidemiologia variá-vel, de acordo com a região estudada. 110 Além disso, levando-se em conta grupos sociais diferentes, um estudo verificou que a freqüência de melanoma na casuística assistencial (maioria da população brasileira) é significativamente maior em pacientes não brancos, em faixa etária mais elevada, com percentagem alta de melanoma acrolentiginoso, enquanto na casuística da clínica privada a doença predomina em indivíduos brancos, em faixa etária não elevada, com pequena percentagem de melanoma acrolentiginoso. Isso sugere que a epidemiologia do melanoma cutâneo no Brasil, em população acima de 50 anos, pode ser decorrente da diferença racial e étnica em relação aos países de população predominantemente branca.…”

Risk Factors for Developing Cutaneous Melanoma in Santa Catarina, Brazil: A Case-Control Observational Study

“…However, few case-control studies have addressed this issue, and there is considerable variation in the published results [15].An absence of compulsory notification/registration and negligence in areas of low cutaneous tumor incidence has led to a paucity of epidemiological information [16]. Therefore, in this study, we sought to identify risk factors for the development of CM in western Santa Catarina, Brazil.…”