CancerStats Key Facts on Skin Cancer

CancerStats Key Facts on Skin Cancer
Cancer Research UK
61 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, WC2A 3PX.

This page presents key skin cancer incidence, survival and mortality statistics, and the main risk factors for skin cancer. You can download a PDF of the CancerStats Key Facts on Skin Cancer page.

The skin cancer statistics on these pages are designed for health professionals. If you are looking for information because you or someone you know has been affected by skin cancer , then the CancerHelp UK pages on skin cancer may be more useful and relevant. CancerHelp UK also includes a straightforward guide to understanding statistics.

How common is skin cancer?

This is an image of a mum with 2 children paddling in the sea. They are all wearing sun hats and t-shirts.

* There are two main types of skin cancer: non-melanoma skin cancer, which is very common, and malignant melanoma which is less common but more serious.
* Registration of non-melanoma skin cancer is incomplete. More than 76,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer were registered in 2005 but it is estimated that the actual number is at least 100,000 cases in the UK each year.
* More than 9,500 cases of malignant melanoma were diagnosed in the UK in 2005.
* Malignant melanoma incidence rates in Britain have quadrupled since the 1970s.
* Like most cancers, skin cancer is more common with increasing age, but malignant melanoma is disproportionately high in younger people.
* Almost one third of all cases of malignant melanoma occur in people under 50.
* Malignant melanoma is the second most common cancer in young adults (aged 15-34) in the UK.
* Malignant melanoma is more than twice as common in young women (up to age 34) as in young men, but more men die from it.
* Over the last twenty-five years, rates of malignant melanoma in Britain have risen faster than any other common cancer.
* The most common site for men to develop a malignant melanoma is on the chest or back. For women it is on the legs.
* Worldwide, the highest rates of malignant melanoma are in Australia and New Zealand.

How many people survive skin cancer?

* Although non-melanoma skin cancer is extremely common, in the vast majority of cases it is detected early and is not life-threatening.
* Malignant melanoma survival rates have been improving for the last twenty-five years and are now amongst the highest for any cancer.
* The latest malignant melanoma survival rates show that 78% of men and 91% of women are alive five years after diagnosis.
* Malignant melanoma survival rates are better for people diagnosed early with the thinnest tumours.
* People from the most affluent areas have better malignant melanoma survival rates than those from the more deprived areas.

Read more in-depth skin cancer survival statistics
How many people die from skin cancer?

* This is an image showing the melanoma death rates in the UK since 1971 More than 2,300 people die from skin cancer each year in the UK.
* Most skin cancer deaths, more than 1,800 each year, are from malignant melanoma.
* The majority of non-melanoma skin cancer deaths are in elderly people.
* Almost half of all people that die from malignant melanoma are younger than 70.

What causes skin cancer?

* Sun exposure is the main cause of malignant melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers.
* Other factors that influence the risk of skin cancer are:

This is an image of a man with a sunburnt shoulders and back.
o People with light eyes or hair, who sunburn easily or do not tan have an increased risk of skin cancer.
o People with a lot of moles, unusually shaped or large moles, or a lot of freckles have a higher risk of melanoma.
o A history of sunburn doubles the risk of melanoma and also increases the risk of non-melanoma skin cancer.
o Use of sunbeds, especially by young people, increases the risk of skin cancer.
o People with a previous non-melanoma skin cancer have a much higher risk of developing a second one.
o People with a close relative diagnosed with skin cancer have a higher risk of developing it themselves.