Skin Cancer: Fast Facts
Reviewed By:
Martin E. Liebling, M.D., FACP
- Skin cancer is
the most common form of cancer, probably accounting for at least
half of all cancers. The exact number of cases occurring each year
is unknown because cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are not
reported to cancer registries.
- About half of
all Americans who live to age 65 will be diagnosed with skin
cancer.
- Experts
believe that there at least as many non-melanoma skin cancer cases
diagnosed each year as all other cancers combined. That amounts to
more than a million cases every year. And the number is increasing.
This is most likely the result of increased detection and more sun
exposure.
- Basal cell
carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the two main forms of
non-melanoma skin cancer. Together, they account for about 95
percent of all non-melanoma skin cancers, according to the American
Cancer Society (ACS). More than 75 percent of all non-melanoma skin
cancers diagnosed in the United States are basal cell
carcinomas.
- According to
ACS estimates, approximately 62,480 new melanoma cases will be
diagnosed in the United States during 2008.
- The number of
new melanomas diagnosed each year in the United States is on the
rise. However, it seems to have slowed a bit. The incidence rate
among white men and women rose an average of 6 percent each year
from 1973 until the early 1980s. However, since 1981, it has risen
a little less than 3 percent each year.
- Approximately
10 percent of those diagnosed with melanoma have a family history
of the disease, according to the ACS. Genetic mutations are seen in
up to 40 percent of families with a high incidence of
melanoma.
- Men are about
twice as likely to develop non-melanoma as women. They are also
more likely to develop melanoma than women (a risk of 1 in 57
versus 1 in 81), according to the ACS. This may be the result of
higher amounts of sun exposure among men.
- Melanoma often
strikes people at a younger age than do most other cancers.
According to the ACS, half of all melanomas are found in people
under the age of 57.
- Whites are 20
times more likely to develop melanoma than are African-Americans,
who are more protected by their skin pigment, according to the ACS.
However, it should be noted that people of color can develop
melanoma.
- Non-melanoma
skin cancer is rarely fatal. The ACS estimates that less than 2,800
people will die from non-melanoma skin cancer in the United States
in 2008.
- The mortality
rate for non-melanoma skin cancer is dropping. There has been about
a 30 percent reduction in the last 30 years.
- Although
melanoma accounts for only about 4 percent of all skin cancer
cases, it is responsible for more than 75 percent of
skin-cancer-related deaths. The ACS estimates that approximately
8,420 people in the United States will die of melanoma in
2008.
- Melanoma is
highly curable, with a five-year survival rate of 97 percent when
caught at a localized stage (meaning it has not spread), according
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survival
rate drops to 63 percent for melanoma that has spread to nearby
areas and to 18 percent for cancer that has spread to distant
organs.
- The mortality
rate for melanoma has increased by 50 percent since 1973. A large
portion of this increase was seen in older people, and particularly
in white men. In recent years, the rate has stabilized for men and
slightly decreased for women.
- The majority
of skin-cancer-related deaths occur in older people who did not
receive treatment for their cancer early enough. The risk of dying
is also higher in people with suppressed immune systems, such as
those with HIV or AIDS or those taking immunosuppressants (drugs
that weaken the immune system) after an organ
transplant.
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