SunSmart statistics and factsheets
This page contains a summary of skin cancer statistics followed by several factsheets to download.
Incidence statistics
Skin cancer, including non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and malignant melanoma, is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK.
It is difficult to be exact about the numbers of skin cancer cases in the UK as registration data for NMSC is known to be incomplete. However statistics can give us some indication of incidence of skin cancer. In 2004 in the UK there were:
- over 72,000 cases of NMSC reported
- just under 9,000 cases of malignant melanoma registered
These figures under represent the number of cases of NMSC. The British Association of Dermatologists estimate that there are at least 100,000 new cases of skin cancer annually in the UK.
Mortality and prevention
Although malignant melanoma makes up only 11% of skin cancer cases, it is responsible for around 80% of skin cancer deaths. And incidence rates for melanoma are rising at a worrying rate. Over the last 25 years the incidence of malignant melanoma has increased more than for any other major cancer in the UK. Melanoma is also the third most common cancer amongst 15 to 39 year olds.
Most skin cancers are preventable, with around 80% of melanomas being caused by exposure to sunlight. For more on the SunSmart campaign's evidence base see our how do we know? section.
More information
You can find more statistics in the CancerStats section of our News and Resources website.
You can find more information about the causes, symptoms and treatment of skin cancer on our CancerHelp UK website.
You can download statistical information about skin cancer incidence, mortality and survival below:
- Skin Cancer in UK Men Factsheet 2006
- Skin Cancer in the UK Factsheet 2005
- Malignant Melanoma Factsheet 2005
- Young People and Skin Cancer Factsheet 2005
- Explanation of why NMSC is under reported
Download our briefsheet about our research into skin cancer here:
For details of our evidence base, take a look at the how do we know? section.
You will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view these PDFs. You can download Acrobat Reader free of charge from the Adobe website. Visit Access Adobe to find out how people with visual disabilities can get the most from this software.
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