Incidence of Rare Skin Cancer Rising in the US

The incidence of Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) has become increasingly common in recent years, according to the results of a recent study.

Findings from the study were presented at the American Academy of Dermatology 2018 Annual Meeting, which took place from February 16 to 20, 2018, in San Diego, California.
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To assess changes in MCC incidence from 2000 to 2013, the researchers assessed data on 6600 MCC cases from the SEER-18 database. Findings were adjusted for age and sex using US census data.

Findings indicated that the incidence of reported MCC cases increased by 95% from 2000 to 2013, with an incidence rate of 0.7 cases per 100,000 person-years in 2013. In addition, the incidence of melanoma cases increased by 57% and solid cancer cases increased by 15% during this time period.

Notably, the researchers observed an exponential increase in MCC incidence with age. This increase is likely attributable to the aging Baby Boomer generation, and as a result, researchers expect this number to increase to 2835 cases per year in 2020 and 3284 cases per year in 2025.

“An aging population is driving brisk increases in the number of new MCC cases in the United States,” the researchers concluded. “This growing impact combined with the rapidly evolving therapeutic landscape warrants expanded awareness of MCC diagnosis and management.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Paulson KG, Park SY, Vandeven NA, et al. Merkel cell carcinoma: current US incidence and projected increases based on changing demographics. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2018;78(3):457-463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2017.10.028.