Fondazione Melanoma targets scalp and nail cancer prevention

The Fondazione Melanoma has launched an awareness initiative in Italy to enlist hairdressers and beauticians as ‘sentinels’ for skin cancer prevention. The campaign focuses on two particularly difficult-to-monitor areas: the scalp and the nail apparatus.

Approximately 800 cases of melanoma affecting these specific areas are diagnosed annually in Italy. Because these regions are often excluded from daily self-observation or mistaken for simple aesthetic issues, they can lead to dangerous late diagnoses. Paolo Ascierto, Professor of Oncology at the University of Naples Federico II and president of the Fondazione Melanoma, noted that while the head and neck represent only 9% of the body surface, they account for about 20% of all melanoma cases in Italy. Furthermore, 35% of these cases develop directly under the hair.

Melanomas on the scalp are often described as the ‘invisible killer’ because hair hides them from view, and the area's high vascularization can facilitate rapid spread. This results in a 10-year survival rate of approximately 60%, which is significantly lower than melanomas found on the limbs or trunk. The initiative was presented during the eighth edition of ‘We in Action’ in Naples, emphasizing the role of beauty professionals in spotting lesions that patients might not see themselves.