According to an article published in The Washington Post, Black male patients with melanoma may have a higher rate of mortality than White male patients. In a new study published by Fernandez et al in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, investigators examined data from 200,000 male patients with melanoma and found that Black male patients were 26% more likely to die from the disease than White male patients. Further, the investigators also discovered that 48.6% of Black male patients vs 21.1% of White male patients received a later-stage diagnosis. They noted that 20% of Black male patients were diagnosed with acral lentiginous melanoma, which has a higher rate of mortality because it is more difficult to identify. The investigators reported no significant statistical differences in mortality rate between the two groups based on patients’ income, insurance, access to care, and education level. “By paying more attention to the less common categories within melanoma, we may come to understand melanoma better in general,” concluded David J. Leffel, MDCM, the David P. Smith Professor of Dermatology as well as Professor of Surgery at the Yale School of Medicine.
July 19, 2023