What is melanoma cancer?

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 cancer, 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 cancer?

In 2023, 3182 Victorians were diagnosed with melanoma. Of these, there were 1860 males and 1320 females, representing 58.5% and 41.5% of the total Victorian melanoma diagnoses, respectively. There were 2 cases where sex was reported as neither male or female, not known, established or defined. Currently, melanoma is diagnosed at a rate of 48 per 100,000 males and 31.7 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of melanoma is 65 years in males and 60 in females (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 8.1% of all cancers diagnosed and 2.3% of all cancer-related deaths in 2023, melanoma was the 5th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the 12th most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria.

Trends in melanoma cancer over time

Figure 3a shows for males between 2005 to 2023 the age standardised incidence rate of melanoma cancer declined by an average of 0.1% per year. However this result was not statistically significant, meaning the change cannot be confidently considered real and may be due to random fluctuations.

For females between 2020 to 2023 the age standardised incidence rate of melanoma cancer increased by an average of 2.7% per year. However this result wasn’t statistically significant, meaning the change cannot be confidently considered real and may be due to random fluctuations.

Melanoma cancer morphology

Figure 4 provides a summary of the different types of cells (morphology) which have caused melanoma cancer among all cases. Most melanoma cancers, 60%, present as Superficial cell tumours.

Geographical variance in melanoma cancer by local government area

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

Melanoma cancer in people born overseas

Figure 6 shows the age-standardised incidence rates of melanoma cancer in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2018 to 2022. The highest age standardised incidence rate for melanoma cancer was 61.4 for males born in the Australia and New Zealand region and the lowest rate of 2 was observed in males born in the North-East Asia region. The highest age standardised incidence rate for melanoma cancer was 41.1 for females born in the Australia and New Zealand region and the lowest rate of 1.3 was observed in females born in the South-East Asia region.

Melanoma cancer distribution by stage at diagnosis

Figure 7 shows distribution of melanoma cancer by stage of disease at diagnosis in 2023. In males, Stage 1 accounted for the largest proportion (70.7%) of new diagnoses and Stage 3 accounted for the lowest proportion (2%) of new melanoma cancer diagnoses. In females, Stage 1 accounted for the largest proportion (77.7%) of new diagnoses and Stage 3 accounted for the lowest proportion (1.2%) of new melanoma cancer diagnoses.

Melanoma cancer five-year relative survival

Figure 8 shows the change in 5-year survival for melanoma cancer, 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 cancer between 1983-1987 and 2018-2022 from 83% to 94%.