 The incidence of malignant melanoma has increased dramatically in recent decades. In 1930, the lifetime risk of an individual in the United States developing melanoma was 1 in 1,500. This has been exponentially increasing over the years with the risk estimated to be 1 in 75 in 2000 . According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 59,580 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in the United States in 2005 and about 7,770 people are expected to die of the disease. 