In a recent study, researchers found epidemiologic and clinical differences for in situ and invasive melanomas. Researchers prospectively collected incident cases of melanoma from the Nurses’ Health Study (1976 to 2010) and Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986 to 2010). They found:

• Melanoma in situ (MIS) incidence increased from 2 to 42 per 100,000 person-years among women, and from 11 to 73 per 100,000 person-years among men, exceeding the rate of increase of invasive melanomas.

• Melanoma mortality initially increased during the follow-up period then plateaued.

• Men were more likely than women to develop in situ melanomas on the upper half of the body.

• Invasive melanomas were diagnosed at a younger age than MIS, and were more likely to be found on the lower extremities than MIS.

• The lack of improvement in mortality despite the increase in detection of in situ relative to invasive lesions further highlights the need to improve invasive melanoma-specific clinical screening features.

Citation: We EX, Qureshi AA, Han J, Li TY, et al. Trends in the diagnosis and clinical features of melanoma in situ (MIS) in US men and women: A prospective, observational study. [Published online ahead of print July 16, 2016]. J Am Acad Dermatol. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2016.05.011.