Cancer Research UK : CancerStats Key Facts on Skin Cancer

CancerStats Key Facts on Skin Cancer

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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.

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 melanoma which is less common but more serious.
Registration of non-melanoma skin cancer is incomplete. More than 75,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are registered each year but it is estimated that the actual number is at least 100,000 cases in the UK each year.
Around 9,000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed each year in the UK.
Melanoma incidence rates in Britain have quadrupled since the 1970s.
Like most cancers, skin cancer is more common with increasing age, but melanoma is disproportionately high in younger people.
Almost one third of all cases of melanoma occur in people under 50.
Melanoma is the most common cancer in young adults (aged 15-34).
Melanoma is more than twice as common in young women as in young men, but more men die from it.
Over the last twenty-five years, rates of melanoma in Britain have risen faster than any other major cancer.
The most common site for men to develop a melanoma is on the chest or back. For women it is on the legs.
Melanoma rates are higher in people living in more affluent areas.
The highest rates of melanoma in the UK are in Scotland.
In the EU, around 48,000 people are diagnosed with melanoma each year; the highest rates are in the Northern European countries of Sweden and Denmark.
Worldwide, the highest rates of melanoma are in Australia and New Zealand.

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

This is an image of a man with a sunburnt shoulders and back.

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

Why not browse through our other skin cancer statistics sections...

The latest England, Wales and Scotland skin cancer survival statistics