Two studies published in the March 2010 issue of Archives of Dermatology suggest that there has been a marked recent increase in the incidence of non-melanoma skin cancers in the United States. Non-melanoma skin cancers now affect 13 million persons.

Basal cell (BSC) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are the most common cancers in humans. The incidence of these skin cancers increases with age and is thought to be due to primarily to sun exposure. However, the incidence of basal cell and squamous cell cancers is also increased in smokers. The recent extensive use of tanning booths has also been implicated in the increased incidence of skin cancers. The most frequent sites for basal and squamous cell carcinomas are the head and neck, which get the most sun exposure.

Dr. Robert S. Stern from Best Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard University presented a mathematical model to estimate the prevalence of non-melanoma skin cancer in the United States.[1] This researcher used National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2007 data, National Cancer Institute skin Cancer Incidence data (1977-1978), and SEER data. He estimated that 13 million White non-Hispanics in the United States in 2007 had at least one non-melanoma skin cancer. Approximately one in five 70 year olds has non-melanoma skin cancer. However, only 5 million of these cancers were reported in the NHIS database. He also stated, “Despite their high frequency, population-based incidence and burden data for BSC and SCC are largely lacking.”

Researchers from several U.S. medical centers have reported: “The number of skin cancers in Medicare beneficiaries increased dramatically over the years 1991 to 2006, due mainly to an increase in the number of affected individuals.” These authors reported that there was a 77% increase in Medicare-funded procedures for skin cancer between 1992 and 2006. The age-adjusted procedure rate for skin cancer increased from 3,614 per 100,000 in 1992 to 6,075 per 100,000 beneficiaries in 2006. They estimated that the total number of non-melanoma skin cancers in the U.S. population was 3.5 million in 2006, affecting over 2 million individuals. These are much higher than previous estimates and suggest that this is an “under recognized epidemic of skin cancer in the United States.”  

Comments: Taken together, these data suggest that non-melanoma skin cancers are an increasing problem, which may be due to the aging U.S. population. However, the exact number of persons with non-melanoma skin cancers remains in question.

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