Global inequality in the incidence and mortality rate of melanoma skin cancer according to human development index: a country-level analysis

Objective The present study aimed to quantify existing inequalities in melanoma skin cancer (MSC) incidence and mortality between countries with different level of human development index (HDI). Methods A descriptive study was conducted based on GLOBOCAN project of the WHO for most countries in the world. Inequality in the age-specific incidence and mortality rates of MC was calculated according to the HDI by using the concentration index (CI) and decomposition of the CI was conducted. Results The CI for incidence and mortality rates of MSC was 0.44 (95% CI: 0.38, 0.54) and 0.11 (95% CI: 0.04, 0.21), respectively, which showed that MSC was more concentrated in countries with higher HDI. Expected years of schooling (0.44), mean year of schooling (0.38), and gross national income per 1000 capita (0.17) were the most important contributors of inequality in MSC incidence. Conclusion Disparity in melanoma rates was observed across diverse HDI components in different countries. The risk of MCS increased with higher life expectancy at birth, higher mean year of schooling, more expected years of schooling, and higher gross national income per 1000 capita according to the decomposing analysis.