Declining melanoma incidence among younger adults in Sweden: insights from histopathological subtypes and the role of immigration

Arnold M, Singh D, Laversanne M, Vignat J, Vaccarella S, Meheus F, et al. Global burden of cutaneous melanoma in 2020 and projections to 2040. JAMA Dermatol. 2022;158(5):495–503 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2022.0160

Elder DE, Bastian BC, Cree IA, Massi D, Scolyer RA. The 2018 World Health Organization classification of cutaneous, mucosal, and uveal melanoma: detailed analysis of 9 distinct subtypes defined by their evolutionary pathway. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2020;144(4):500–22 DOI: https://doi.org/10.5858/arpa.2019-0561-RA

International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization Global Cancer Observatory. Global cancer observatory [Internet]. 2026. [cited 2026 Feb 3]. Available from: https://gco.iarc.who.int/today/en

Helgadottir H, Mikiver R, Schultz K, Nielsen K, Portelli F, Lapins J, et al. Melanoma incidence and mortality trends among patients aged 59 years or younger in Sweden. JAMA Dermatol. 2024;160(11):1201–10 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2024.3514

Erdmann F, Lortet-Tieulent J, Schüz J, Zeeb H, Greinert R, Breitbart EW, et al. International trends in the incidence of malignant melanoma 1953–2008 – are recent generations at higher or lower risk? Int J Cancer. 2013;132(2):385–400 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.27616

Sweden S. Utrikesfödda i Sverige [Internet]. 2026. [cited 2026 Feb 3]. Available from: https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/sverige-i-siffror/manniskorna-i-sverige/utrikes-fodda-i-sverige/

Czarnecki D, Meehan CJ. Is the incidence of malignant melanoma decreasing in young Australians? J Am Acad Dermatol. 2000;42(4):672–4 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0190-9622(00)90183-X

Baade PD, Youlden DR, Youl P, Kimlin M, Sinclair C, Aitken J. Assessment of the effect of migration on melanoma incidence trends in Australia between 1982 and 2010 among people under 30. Acta Derm Venereol. 2015;95(1):118–20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2340/00015555-1983

Kvaskoff M, Siskind V, Green AC. Risk factors for lentigo maligna melanoma compared with superficial spreading melanoma: a case-control study in Australia. Arch Dermatol. 2012;148(2):164–70 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/archdermatol.2011.291

Iznardo H, Garcia-Melendo C, Yélamos O. Lentigo maligna: clinical presentation and appropriate management. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2020;13:837–55 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2147/CCID.S224738

Chen Q, Zheng M, Ling C. Incidence trends of lentigo maligna and lentigo maligna melanoma in the United States from 2000 to 2019. Int J Dermatol. 2024;63(5):647–54 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijd.16982

Greenwald HS, Friedman EB, Osman I. Superficial spreading and nodular melanoma are distinct biological entities: a challenge to the linear progression model. Melanoma Res. 2012;22(1):1–8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/CMR.0b013e32834e6aa0

Dika E, Fanti PA, Fiorentino M, Capizzi E, Neri I, Piraccini BM, et al. Spitzoid tumors in children and adults: a comparative clinical, pathological, and cytogenetic analysis. Melanoma Res. 2015;25(4):295–301 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/CMR.0000000000000160

Wiesner T, He J, Yelensky R, Esteve-Puig R, Botton T, Yeh I, et al. Kinase fusions are frequent in Spitz tumours and spitzoid melanomas. Nat Commun. 2014;5:3116 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4116

Bastian BC, LeBoit PE, Pinkel D. Mutations and copy number increase of HRAS in Spitz nevi with distinctive histopathological features. Am J Pathol. 2000;157(3):967–72 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-9440(10)64609-3

Helkkula T, Christensen G, Mikiver R, Ingvar Å, Isaksson K, Nielsen K. Acral melanoma incidence and survival trends in 1990–2020: a nationwide, population-based study. Acta Derm Venereol. 2024;104:adv40242 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v104.40242

Wang M, Fukushima S, Sheen YS, Ramelyte E, Cruz-Pacheco N, Shi C, et al. The genetic evolution of acral melanoma. Nat Commun. 2024;15(1):6146 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-50233-z

Bradford PT, Goldstein AM, McMaster ML, Tucker MA. Acral lentiginous melanoma: incidence and survival patterns in the United States, 1986–2005. Arch Dermatol. 2009;145(4):427–34 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/archdermatol.2008.609

Holman DM, Freeman MB, Shoemaker ML. Trends in melanoma incidence among non-hispanic whites in the United States, 2005 to 2014. JAMA Dermatol. 2018;154(3):361–2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamadermatol.2017.5541

Aitken JF, Youlden DR, Baade PD, Soyer HP, Green AC, Smithers BM. Generational shift in melanoma incidence and mortality in Queensland, Australia, 1995–2014. Int J Cancer. 2018;142(8):1528–35 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.31141

Memon A, Bannister P, Rogers I, Sundin J, Al-Ayadhy B, James PW, et al. Changing epidemiology and age-specific incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma in England: an analysis of the national cancer registration data by age, gender and anatomical site, 1981–2018. Lancet Reg Health Eur. 2021;2:100024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2021.100024

Walker H, Maitland C, Tabbakh T, Preston P, Wakefield M, Sinclair C. Forty years of slip! Slop! Slap! A call to action on skin cancer prevention for Australia. Public Health Res Pract. 2022;32(1):31452117 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17061/phrp31452117

Karlsson MA, Wahlgren CF, Wiklund K, Rodvall Y. Parental sun-protective regimens and prevalence of common melanocytic naevi among 7-year-old children in Sweden: changes over a 5-year period. Br J Dermatol. 2011;164(4):830–7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2011.10214.x

Rodvall Y, Wahlgren CF, Wiklund K. Future reduction of cutaneous malignant melanoma due to improved sun protection habits and decreased common melanocytic nevi density among Swedish children?: a follow-up from 2002 to 2012. Eur J Cancer. 2019;118:149–55 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejca.2019.06.016

TSRS. Regler – för dig som driver solariesalong [Internet]. [cited 2026 Jan 15]. Available from: https://www.stralsakerhetsmyndigheten.se/omraden/sol-och-solarier/regelverk-for-solarier/

Boldeman C, Jansson B, Dal H, Ullén H. Sunbed use among Swedish adolescents in the 1990s: a decline with an unchanged relationship to health risk behaviors. Scand J Public Health. 2003;31(3):233–7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14034940310001208

Ivert LU, Dal H, Rodvall Y, Lindelöf B. Analysis of the Stockholm public health cohort: exploring how ultraviolet radiation and other factors associate with skin cancer. J Skin Cancer. 2024;2024:7142055 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/7142055