Skin cancer statistics - Key Facts

• 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 81,600 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer were registered in 2006 but it is estimated that the actual number is at least 100,000 cases in the UK each year.
• More than 10,400 cases of malignant melanoma were diagnosed in the UK in 2006.
• Malignant melanoma incidence rates in Britain have more than 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 now the 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.

Read more in-depth skin cancer incidence statistics

• 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 survive the disease for at least 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.

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• More than 2,600 people die from skin cancer each year in the UK.
• Most skin cancer deaths, more than 2,000 each year, are from malignant melanoma.
• The majority of non-melanoma skin cancer deaths are in elderly people.
• More than half of all people that die from malignant melanoma are younger than 70.

Read more in-depth skin cancer mortality statistics

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

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  • 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.
  • 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.

Read more in-depth skin cancer risk factors

*age-standardised to the European population **period estimates