Another mutation in the same gene results in a nonfunctional inhibitor of CDK4, a cyclin-dependent kinase that promotes cell division. Mutations that cause the skin condition xeroderma pigmentosum  (XP) also increase melanoma susceptibility. Scattered throughout the genome, these mutations reduce a cells ability to repair DNA. Both CDKN2A and XP mutations are highly penetrant (the chances of a carrier to express the phenotype is high).Familial melanoma  is genetically heterogeneous, and loci for familial melanoma appear on the chromosome arms 1p, 9p and 12q. Multiple genetic events have been related to melanomas pathogenesis (disease development). The multiple tumor suppressor 1 (CDKN2A/MTS1) gene encodes p16INK4a – a low-molecular weight protein inhibitor of cyclin-dependent protein kinases (CDKs) – which has been localised to the p21 region of human chromosome 9. FAMMM is typically characterized by having 50 or more combined moles in addition to a family history of melanoma. It is transmitted autosomal dominantly and mostly associated with the CDKN2A mutations. People who have CDKN2A mutation associated FAMMM have a 38 fold increased risk of pancreatic cancer.Other mutations confer lower risk, but are more common in the population. People with mutations in the MC1R gene are two to four times more likely to develop melanoma than those with two wild-type (typical unaffected type) copies. MC1R mutations are very common, and all red-haired people have a mutated copy.
Overall age-standardised cancer incidence in Australia is the highest in the world, and this is attributable to melanoma alone. Age-standardised overall cancer incidence is similar to New Zealand, but there is a statistically significant difference between Australia and all other parts of the developed world including North America, Western Europe, and the Mediterranean. United States
In the United States about 9,000 people die from melanoma a year. In 2011 it affected 19.7 per 100,000, and resulted in death in 2.7 per 100,000.In 2013:

71,943 people in the United States were diagnosed with melanomas of the skin, including 42,430 men and 29,513 women. 9,394 people in the United States died from melanomas of the skin, including 6,239 men and 3,155 women.The American Cancer Societys estimates for melanoma incidence in the United States for 2017 are:

About 87,110 new melanomas will be diagnosed (about 52,170 in men and 34,940 in women). About 9,730 people are expected to die of melanoma (about 6,380 men and 3,350 women).Melanoma is more than 20 times more common in whites than in African Americans. Overall, the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 2.5% (1 in 40) for whites, 0.1% (1 in 1,000) for African Americans, and 0.5% (1 in 200) for Hispanics. The risk of melanoma increases as people age. The average age of people when the disease is diagnosed is 63. History
Although melanoma is not a new disease, evidence for its occurrence in antiquity is rather scarce.