Do Black People Get Melanoma

This kind of melanoma shows up in unexpected places like the palms of.

Do black people get melanoma. This can be deadly when the person has melanoma a type of skin cancer that can spread quickly. Even if you never sunburn you can get skin cancer. Keep in mind that this data may be due to inequities in healthcare and other contributing factors. People of all colors including those with brown and black skin get skin cancer.

Asian american and african american melanoma patients have a greater tendency than caucasians to present with advanced disease at time of diagnosis. Most skin cancer warnings are directed towards fair skinned individuals with blue eyes and blond or red hair who sunburn easily as these individuals are at greatest risk. Darker skinned people can get skin cancer though the risk is lower than it is for white people. The risk for each person can be affected by a number of different factors which are described in risk factors for melanoma skin cancer.

However once african americans are diagnosed with melanoma studies have shown that their long term survival is significantly lower than that of caucasians 58 8 percent compared to 84 8 percent. While this pigment offers some sun protection dark brown or black skin is not a guarantee against melanoma. When skin cancer develops in people of color it s often in a late stage when diagnosed. According to the skin cancer foundation the 5 year melanoma survival rate for black people in the united states is 65 compared with 91 for white people.

Overall the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 2 6 1 in 38 for whites 0 1 1 in 1 000 for blacks and 0 6 1 in 167 for hispanics. Melanoma is reportedly 20 times more common in white people than black people. Black people are actually more susceptible to the least common subtype of the disease known as acral lentiginous melanoma. Given this fact one may mistakenly assume that people with darker skin types such as hispanics asians and african americans do not need to worry about melanoma.

In comparison african americans have an incidence of one case per 100 000 people. In fact a 2016 study notes that white people have the highest risk of melanoma followed by. It can spread to your. Keep reading to learn more about skin.