(Solarina Ho/ CTV News) — Canadians living in southern and coastal parts of the country are at higher risk of developing a deadly form of skin cancer, according to a new study led by McGill University, which also found that rates of this type of cancer are rising in Canada.
The population-based study, published on Monday in the peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers in Medicine, analyzed data from 2011 to 2017 for patients with cutaneous melanoma across all provinces and territories except Quebec. Researchers also looked at mortality trends over a seven-year period and compared it to previous data from 1992 to 2010.
Data showed that of the 39,610 patients diagnosed with this type of melanoma, 5,890 died. Females accounted for nearly 46 per cent of cases and just over 37 per cent of deaths. Notably, researchers found that mortality has also been declining since 2013. (…)