Melanoma in women up eight-fold

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ROCHESTER, Minn., April 24 (UPI) -- U.S. women age 40 and under have been diagnosed with melanoma eight times more frequently than in the previous four decades, researchers say.

Dr. Jerry Brewer of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., said men were diagnosed with melanoma four times as often as the previous 40 years.

The reason the rate of skin cancer for woman has spiked at twice the pace as that of men, Brewer said, is because women have been spending more time in the sun getting tanned and using tanning beds.

Brewer said melanoma is treatable and survivable "if you find it early enough."

"Treatment has improved as cases have gone up," Brewer said in a statement. "Early detection is key. See a dermatologist. That could save your life."

The study was published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings.