More than 10,000 a year get skin cancer in quest for perfect tan
Posted on 26. May, 2009 by Steve W. in Health & Fitness, Science & Medicine
More than 10,000 people a year are developing the deadliest form of skin cancer as a result of package holidays and excessive use of sunbeds, latest figures show.
The number of cases of malignant melanoma rose by 650 — or 6.5 per cent — in a single year as a result of binge-tanning at home and abroad, according to Cancer Research UK.
There were 10,410 diagnoses in 2006, the most recent figure available, with experts predicting a rise to more than 15,500 cases by 2024 — making malignant melanoma the fourth most common cancer in men and women.
Rates of the cancer have more than quadrupled over the past 30 years, from 3.4 cases per 100,000 people in 1977 to 14.7 per 100,000 in 2006.
Experts emphasised the need to protect against the sun as millions of holidaymakers and day trippers headed for coastal resorts to enjoy the hottest weekend of the year. Temperatures reached 25C (77F) in southeast England yesterday, while much of the rest of the country and parts of Scotland and Wales enjoyed unbroken sunshine. On Saturday temperatures reached 22.3C (72F) in Clerkenwell, Central London.
The Government has spent more than £420 million on annual campaigns since 2003, but skin cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Britain, with 100,000 new cases each year. Figures released last month showed that an estimated 340 women in their twenties have melanoma diagnosed in Britain every year — nearly double the number to have breast cancer diagnosed at a similar age. There are two main types: melanoma and non-melanoma. Melanoma makes up just 11 per cent of diagnosed cases of skin cancer but accounts for 80 per cent of deaths, and is more commonly diagnosed in women.
The disease is mainly identified by a fast-growing, irregular dark spot on previously normal skin or in an existing mole that changes in size, colour or texture. Most cases are preventable — as about 80 per cent are caused by exposure to sunlight or UV radiation.
Experts warned people of all ages to stay away from sunbeds and to use a high-factor sun lotion in the sun, to be careful not to get burnt and to take extra care of children.
Women are more likely to get skin cancer than men — 5,600 have it diagnosed each year compared with 4,800 men. However, men are more likely to die from the cancer and rates among them have risen fivefold whereas in women they have more than tripled.
Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK’s director of health information, said the latest statistics showed that a worrying number of people were failing to heed basic UV safety information. “With the rates of malignant melanoma in the UK rising faster than any other cancer, it’s more important than ever that people are aware of the dangers of getting burnt, either in the sun or from using sunbeds. Most melanoma skin cancers are caused by over exposure to UV rays given off by the sun and sunbeds.”
According to research by the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, also released today, one third of people found reasons to delay getting a mole or mark on their body checked.
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