
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 31, 1993                   TAG: 9303310047
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: GENEVA                                LENGTH: Short

NEW WARNINGS ISSUED ON RISE OF SKIN CANCER

The number of cases of a potentially deadly form of skin cancer is increasing 5 percent to 10 percent per year in some countries, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

In the United States and Australia, this rise is because more people go to the doctor with early symptoms of the cancer, known as melanoma. But in Switzerland and Scandinavia it is because the sun-seeking mentality still persists, the U.N. agency said.

In Australia, New Zealand and southern parts of the United States there are up to 40 cases of melanoma per 100,000 people every year, according to WHO statistics. In the United States there are more than 27,000 cases of the disease and a further 6,000 deaths per year.

By comparison, there are 8.9 melanoma cases per 100,000 people in Switzerland - one of the worst-affected European nations.

Melanoma is curable if identified and surgically treated at an early stage, but there is no cure for the advanced forms of the disease.

by CNB