Melanoma cases rise as Swedish clinics change routines

Malignant melanoma diagnoses have more than doubled in Sörmland in eight years, forcing skin clinics to change how they handle a growing surgical workload.

Preliminary Region Sörmland figures show 78 cases in 2016 and 176 in 2024, an increase of almost 126 percent. Sol-Britt Lonne Rahm, head of the region’s skin clinic, said deeper melanomas have risen sharply. Patients with those tumours require two operations, creating substantial work for each case.

The increase is national. Cancerfonden figures based on Socialstyrelsen data show malignant melanoma incidence among men rising from 47 per 100,000 people in 2015 to more than 60 in 2024. Among women, the rate rose from 39 to more than 50 per 100,000.

Skin cancer is more common in southern Sweden than in northern and central regions, and risk increases with age as sun exposure accumulates and the body becomes less able to protect against cell changes. Deaths have not risen at the same rate as diagnoses. Better treatment helps, but clinicians say early detection remains the most important factor.

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