Screening for melanoma in aging patients.

Despite recent advances, there is still no highly effective treatment of metastatic melanoma. By contrast, melanoma in situ essentially is a surgically curable disease. Therefore, the most promising approach to reducing melanoma mortality rates is the prompt detection and treatment of early-stage melanoma. The incidence of melanoma in the United States is increasing over time and the incidence increases with age. Thus early detection of melanoma via patient and physician screening in the aging population has the potential to substantially reduce melanoma mortality.