Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The two most common types of skin cancer—basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas—are highly curable. However, melanoma, the third most common skin cancer, is more dangerous, especially among young people. Research shows that most skin cancers can be prevented if people are protected from UV light.
Malignant melanomas are the least common but most serious type of skin cancer, with more than 10,400 new cases diagnosed in 2006. In 2006 over 81,600 non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) were registered in the UK but registration is known to be incomplete. Almost a third (31%) of all cases occur in people aged less than 50 years and in the age-group 15-34 malignant melanoma is the most common cancer (when NMSCs are excluded).
This is an unusually young age distribution for an adult cancer and emphasises the importance of its prevention and early treatment to avert the potential loss of many years of life. The Cancer Atlas of the UK and Ireland, which analysed rates at local authority and health board level, showed that male and female melanoma incidence rates have a very similar geographical distribution. In the UK, the national skin cancer prevention programme, SunSmart, is run by Cancer Research UK and mainly funded by the UK Departments of Health.
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