Melanoma Cancer Statistics


What is melanoma?

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that develops in skin cells called melanocytes. Usually melanomas will occur on parts of the body that have been exposed to the sun. However, rare melanomas can start inside the eye or in a part of the skin that has never been exposed to the sun, such as mucous membrane (e.g. sinuses, digestive tract, genitals), soles of the feet, palms of the hand or under nails. Although it is one of the less common types of skin cancer, melanoma is considered the most serious because it is more likely to spread to other parts of the body, especially if not detected early.

You can access further information about melanoma, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.

The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.

How common is melanoma?

In 2022, 2884 Victorians were diagnosed with melanoma. Of these, there were 1696 males and 1188 females, representing 58.8% and 41.2% of the total Victorian melanoma diagnoses, respectively. Currently, melanoma is diagnosed at a rate of 28.7 per 100,000 males and 19.4 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of melanoma is 64 years in males and 60 in females (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 7.9% of all cancers diagnosed and 2.2% of all cancer-related deaths in 2022, melanoma was the 5th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 14th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria.


Figure 1: Distribution of melanoma incidence in 2022, by sex within age groups
63 71 130 113 237 207 422 250 487 332 357 215 0 100 200 300 400 500 Under 40 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80+ Age at diagnosis (years) Number of diagnoses in 2022 Male Female

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


Figure 2: Distribution of melanoma incidence in 2022, compared to the distribution of the Victorian population in 2022, by 5-year age brackets
0% 4% 8% 12% Percentage of population Population distribution by age 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75-79 80-84 85+ -0.050 -0.025 0.000 0.025 0.050 0% 4% 8% 12% Percentage of population Melanoma distribution by age

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)

Melanoma morphology

Figure 4 provides a summary of the different types of cells (morphology) which have caused melanoma among all cases. Most melanomas, 59.8%, present as Superficial cell tumours.


Figure 4: Distribution of melanoma morphologies between 2013-2022
59.8%16.9%10.9%10%1.41%0.941%
SuperficialOther cell typesNodularLentigoDesmoplasticAcral

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


Geographical variance in melanoma by local government area

Figure 5 demonstrates variation in age-standardised incidence rates of melanoma, by local government areas. Darker shading indicates areas with higher rates of melanoma.


Figure 5: Variation in the incidence of melanoma for the period 2018-2022, by location of residence in Victoria

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


Melanoma in people born overseas

Figure 6 shows the age-standardised incidence rates of melanoma in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2017 to 2021. The highest age standardised incidence rate for melanoma was 39.4 for males born in the Australia and New Zealand region and the lowest rate of 0.9 was observed in males born in the North-East Asia region. The highest age standardised incidence rate for melanoma was 29.7 for females born in the Australia and New Zealand region and the lowest rate of 0.9 was observed in females born in the Southern and Central Asia region.


Figure 6: Age standardised incidence rates and 95% confidence intervals for melanoma in Victorians born in Australia compared to Victorians born in other countries for the period 2017-2021, by sex
050100North AmericaSouth and Central AmericaAfricaOther EuropeMiddle East and North AfricaSouthern EuropeUK and IrelandNorth-East AsiaSouth-East AsiaSouthern and Central AsiaAustralia and New Zealand
MaleAge standardised incidence rate (per 100,000)

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


020406080North AmericaSouth and Central AmericaAfricaOther EuropeMiddle East and North AfricaSouthern EuropeUK and IrelandNorth-East AsiaSouth-East AsiaSouthern and Central AsiaAustralia and New Zealand
FemaleAge standardised incidence rate (per 100,000)

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)



Melanoma distribution by stage at diagnosis

Figure 7 shows distribution of melanoma by stage of disease at diagnosis in 2022. In males, Stage 1 accounted for the largest proportion (68%) of new diagnoses and Stage 3 accounted for the lowest proportion (2.3%) of new melanoma diagnoses. In females, Stage 1 accounted for the largest proportion (74.2%) of new diagnoses and Stage 3 accounted for the lowest proportion (2.1%) of new melanoma diagnoses.


Figure 7: Melanoma distribution by stage at diagnosis in 2022, by sex
Stage 1 68% Stage 2 22.2% Stage 3 2.3% Stage 4 4% Stage unknown 3.4% Male distribution by stage Stage 1 74.2% Stage 2 19.1% Stage 3 2.1% Stage 4 2.2% Stage unknown 2.4% Female distribution by stage

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)


Melanoma five-year relative survival

Figure 8 shows the change in 5-year survival for melanoma, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for melanoma between 1982-1986 and 2017-2021 from 82% to 94%.

Figure 8: Trend in five year relative survival following diagnosis of melanoma in five year brackets, from the period 1982-1986 to 2017-2021
0 20 40 60 80 100 1982-1986 1987-1991 1992-1996 1997-2001 2002-2006 2007-2011 2012-2016 2017-2021 Year 5-year relative survival (%) Five-year relative survival across all cancers

Source: Victorian Cancer Registry (2024)

For further information relating to stage at diagnosis for melanoma, please refer to:
https://www.cancervic.org.au/cancer-information/types-of-cancer/melanoma/diagnosing_melanoma.html

This webpage was last updated in June 2024

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