Time trends in features of cutaneous melanoma at diagnosis: central-south Italy, 1962-1991.

A total of 1360 cases of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) consecutively diagnosed at the Istituto Dermopatico dell'Immacolata (IDI) in Rome, during the period 1962-1991, were reviewed. There was a positive trend of thin (Breslow thickness < 1.49 mm) lesions at diagnosis in comparison to thick lesions, with more severe prognosis (p < 0.05). CMM on the trunk and upper legs increased more than CMM on the face (p < 0.05). There are suggestions that the incidence of CMM in the hospital referral population, resident in Central-South Italy, has been steadily rising. This trend could be due not only to a referral bias related to a growing public concern about "bad moles", but also to a real increase in the incidence of CMM.