Trends in the incidence and mortality of cutaneous melanoma in Hong Kong between 1983 and 2015

The rapid growth of cutaneous melanoma (CM) has been observed globally, especially in the White population. However, due to the low incidence and mortality rates, epidemiological analyses for the CM in the Chinese population was largely overlooked. Here, the quality-controlled public data of CM in Hong Kong were available to partly address this knowledge gap. Using the CM data registered from 1983 to 2015 in the Hong Kong Cancer Registry, Hospital Authority, a joinpoint regression method and an age-period-cohort model was implemented to analyze the trends in incidence and mortality rates in Hong Kong. A total of 1842 diagnosed cases and 853 deaths of CM was registered. The overall age standardized rates of incidence and mortality were 0.7 per 100000 person-years and 0.3 per 100000 person-years, respectively. Over the entire study period, significant growth in mortality were detected with the average annual percent changes (AAPC) of 1.4% (confidential interval [95% CI]: 0.1%-2.7%) per year, while no significant changes were found in the incidence rates for the total population. The incidence rates for people aged 65 years and over declined significantly (AAPC: -1.4% [95% Cl: -2.5%--0.4%]). A full age-period-cohort model best explained changes in the incidence and mortality rates. Associating multi strategies in beating CM and continuous declines in the incidence of cohort effects, the incidence of CM in Hong Kong is estimated to decrease for the next generation.