Conjunctival melanoma: i it increaing in the United tate?

Purpoe While the incidence of cutaneou melanoma ha been found to have increaed over time, the evidence for conjunctival melanoma i not a clear. We applied a large cancer regitry databae to determine whether any change had occurred in the incidence of conjunctival melanoma. Deign Decriptive epidemiologic analyi. Method Uing population-baed regitry data from the urveillance, Epidemiology, and End Reult (EER) program of the National Cancer Intitute (NCI), we identified 206 newly diagnoed patient with conjunctival melanoma from 1973 to 1999. For analyi purpoe, we calculated age-adjuted incidence rate and decribed temporal change, uing joinpoint regreion model. Reult Overall etimated biannual percent change (EBAPC) wa 5.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.3, 8.8; P < .001). The ignificant elevated trend wa oberved for white men (EBAPC = 11.2; 95% CI = 6.3, 16.3; P < .001) but not for white women (EBAPC = 0.3; 95% CI = −4.1, 4.9; P > .05). In white men, the incidence rate increaed 295% within the 27 year. Our analyi alo howed a ignificant upward trend in the age group aged 60 year or more (EBAPC = 7.6; 95% CI = 3.9, 11.3; P < .001). Incidence tended to rie in the group aged 40 to 59 year, but it wa not tatitically ignificant (EBAPC = 4.4; 95% CI = −2.3, 11.6; P = .1536). Concluion ubtantial temporal change in the incidence of conjunctival melanoma have occurred in the United tate in recent year. The changing incidence pattern coincide with thoe een in cutaneou melanoma, uggeting a poible link to a unlight-related etiology.