The aim of this article is to assess mortality trends due to skin melanoma in Poland between the years 2000 and 2020, taking into account gender and place of residence (urban, rural). The subject of the analyses was data on 25,061 deaths that occurred between 2000 and 2020 due to skin melanoma (C43 according to ICD-10). Mortality rates due to this cancer, both crude (CDR) and standardised (SDR), were calculated. Trends on the calculated rates were analysed using the annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percentage change (AAPC), obtained from joinpoint regression models. Over the study period, the standardised death rate (SDR) due to skin melanoma in Poland increased from 3.60 to 4.03 per 100,000 population (AAPC = 1.1; p < 0.05), for urban residents it increased from 3.56 to 3.91 (APC = 1.2; p < 0.05) and for rural residents it increased from 3.00 to 4.24 (APC = 2.2; p < 0.05). A higher growth rate in terms of the SDR value between the years 2000 and 2020 was recorded in men compared to women and in rural when compared to urban residents. In Poland, mortality due to skin melanoma is on the rise. The early diagnosis of this cancer should become common practice in the Polish population.
Keywords: AAPC; APC; CDR; Poland; SDR; joinpoint trends; mortality; skin melanoma.