Melanoma of the Skin Data

Melanoma is a type of cancer in skin cells that produce the pigment that colors the skin (melanin). It is the most dangerous and one of the most common cancers among adolescents and adults under 40. Most melanomas are caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. However, a growing number of people are being overexposed to sun rays and other sources of artificial UV radiation used in industry and other settings such as indoor tanning (using a tanning bed, booth, or sunlamp). Read more about skin cancer.

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Annual Melanoma Incidence Data

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Annual cancer incidence measures can be used to identify trends and patterns of cancer incidence over time. Annual measures are only available at the state level. County level cancer incidence measures are available as five-year aggregate data.

Measure Description:

  • The Cancer Count is the number of newly diagnosed malignant cancers.
  • The Crude Rate (Per 100K) is the rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 population
  • The Age Adjusted Rate (Per 100K) is the age adjusted rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 population. Age adjustment to the 2000 Standard US Census is done to allow direct comparison of rates in counties and state with different population age distributions.
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5-Year Incidence Data

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Five Year incidence measures can be used to identify trends and patterns of cancer incidence over time and in different geographic areas. Five-year aggregate measures are available at the state and county level. Five-year aggregate data is used to reduce the presence of suppressed values due to small numbers; allowing display of data, and stabilization of rates to better evaluate trends. Even with this aggregation some values still need to be suppressed.

Measure Description:

  • The Average Annual Count is the average number of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per year in the five-year period.
  • The Crude Rate (Per 100K) is the rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 Population during the five-year period.
  • The Age Adjusted Rate (Per 100K) is the age adjusted rate of newly diagnosed malignant cancers per 100,000 Population during the five-year period. Age adjustment to the 2000 Standard US Census is done to allow direct comparison of rates in counties and state with different population age distributions.

Explore cancer data for the state of Iowa.

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