Introduction
New Zealand has one of the highest rates of skin cancer worldwide.1,2 Previous research has shown the prevalence of squamous cell carcinoma is rising, whilst rates of invasive melanoma appear to have plateaued.1,2 With an aging population and changing skin cancer trends within New Zealand, we were interested to see how the demographics of patients discussed at the Canterbury - West Coast Major Skin Malignancy MDM has changed over the last decade. To the best of our knowledge, no other similar research has been published across Australasia.
Method
This was a retrospective review of all patients listed for MDM discussion from 2015 to 2024. Data including age, type of skin cancer and total number of patients listed were reviewed.
Results
The number of patients discussed has more than doubled over the last 10 years, rising from an average of 7.4 patients per fortnightly meeting in 2015, to 11.9 in 2024. The annual median age has remained largely unchanged (ranging between 70.5-77 years). Further analysis of how age trends vary between melanoma and non melanoma sub-cohorts is ongoing.
Conclusion
There has been a substantial rise in the number of patients discussed at Canterbury’s Major Skin Malignancy MDM, while the median patient age has remained unchanged. The increasing demand for multi-disciplinary discussion may mean additional resourcing is needed in the future, in order to keep pace with demand.
References
1. Paul, S., Chen, Y. & Mohaghegh, M. Analysis of Prevalence, Socioeconomic and Disease Trends of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer in New Zealand from 2008 to 2022. J Epidemiol GlobHealth 14, 1012–1021 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44197-024-00250-4
2. Wen D, Pullman JS, Sharma A et al. Exploring melanoma shifts: a two-decade analysis in New Zealand. NZ Med J. 2024 Jun 7;137(1596):35-42. doi: 10.26635/6965.6430. PMID: 38843548.