Forum for Nordic Dermato-Venereology Nr1,2019 | Page 17

Dermato-Venereology in the Nordic Countries Four Years of Euromelanoma Skin Cancer Awareness Campaign in Norway 2014–2017 P etter G jersvik 1,2 *, J on L angeland 3 , M ona S tensrud 4 and I ngrid R oscher 2 Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Department of Dermatology, Oslo University Hospital, 3 Hudklinikken, Norwegian Cancer Society, Oslo, Norway. *E-mail: [email protected] 1 2 4 E uromelanoma is a dermatologist-led skin cancer awareness and screening campaign organized annually in several European countries since 2000 (1). Norway, with a high in- cidence and mortality of cutaneous melanoma (2, 3), joined the Euromelanoma campaign in 2014. Here, we report our experience from 4 years of Euromelanoma in Norway. M ethods Norway has approximately 5.2 million inhabitants and about 160 dermatologists. A loosely organized public health edu- cation campaign was initiated in May each year, based on advice, leaflets and posters from the Euromelanoma network (1) in close cooperation with the Norwegian Cancer Society. Websites were created, updated and/or translated, social media messages were sent out, and a short video film on melanoma were shown on general practitioners’ waiting rooms. National and local newspapers, radio stations and television stations were approached for interviews and feature articles. Persons with perceived high risk of skin cancer and/or with what they thought was a suspicious skin lesion, were invited to attend a skin examination screening on the day of the campaign. Appointment with a dermatology department or practising dermatologist involved in the campaign were done through a centralized telephone or online service. Questionnaires were used to collect relevant demographic, epidemiological and clinical data of those screened. All clini- cally suspicious lesions were excised on the same day (or the next day) and examined by a pathologist. R esults Persons, n Mean age, years Women, % In situ melanoma, n (%) Invasive melanoma, n (%) Breslow thickness, mm Basal cell carcinoma, n a Squamous cell carcinoma, n 2014 2015 2016 2017 1,450 48 NR 3 (0.21) 5 (0.34) ≤0.75 17 4 1,322 52 NR 2 (0.15) 9 (0.68) 0.6->2.0 52 5 1,290 46 63 3 (0.23) 4 (0.31) 0.2-1.2 25 0 1,219 47 65 3 (0.25) 4 (0.33) 0.4-1.0 11 0 a Including multiple basal cell carcinomas in some individuals. NR: not registered. 5,281 persons a with mean age of 46–52 years, > 60% females, were examined (Table I). Eleven persons (0.21%) were diag- nosed with a histologically confirmed in situ melanoma and 22 (0.42%) with an invasive melanoma, most with a Breslow thickness < 1.0 mm. In addition, 114 keratinocyte skin cancers, mostly basal cell carcinomas, were diagnosed. D iscussion The impact of disease awareness campaigns is hard to assess. Except for internal assessment of logistics to improve next year’s campaign, no formal evaluation of the 4 Euromelanoma campaigns in Norway has been performed. However, consider- ing the high media attention, we believe that the campaigns have had a positive influence on the general public’s attitudes towards more healthy sun habits, preventive measures against skin cancer and awareness of early signs We believe that campaigns to pre- of skin cancer, particularly melanoma. ” vent mela­noma and other forms of skin cancer should focus more on the need for more healthy sun habits, particularly avoiding sunburn and use of sun beds, than on screening. The 4 campaigns resulted in more than 900 newspaper articles and radio or televi- sion appearances and more than 130,000 visits to the Norwegian Euromelanoma and cancer society websites promoting healthy sun habits and explaining early signs of melanoma. Skin examinations were performed by 50–70 dermatologists each year at both public hospitals and private clinics. In total, Forum for Nord Derm Ven 2019, Vol. 24, No. 1 Table I. Persons screened for skin cancer at annual Euromelanoma campaigns in Norway 2014–2017 The number of diagnosed melanomas was low, and most melanomas were in situ lesions or thin melanomas with a very good prognosis. This is in accord- ance with results from a Euromelanoma campaign in Sweden (4). In both countries, all clinically suspicious lesions were excised as part of the Euromelanoma screening consultation. This is in contrast to Euromelanoma campaigns in most other countries, reporting only rates for 15