A team at the Penn State Cancer Institute examined cancer registry data from 2017 through 2021 and reported that adults over 50 living in a 15-county area of South Central Pennsylvania were 57% more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, than residents in the rest of Pennsylvania.
Charlene Lam, MD, associate professor of dermatology at Penn State Health and a co-author of the study, noted that the affected region includes both rural and urban counties. She explained that the elevated risk is not limited to people in remote locations or those who spend long hours outdoors.