More people are dying from non-melanoma skin cancer worldwide, making it officially even more deadly than melanoma.
Melanoma — a form of skin cancer that originates in the cells related to skin pigment — has been typically known as “the most serious skin cancer” due to its propensity to spread to other organs, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association.
While melanoma is less common than its well-known non-melanoma skin cancer culprits, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, the risk of death due to melanoma is still considered to be higher than other forms of skin cancer, per Medical News Today.
However, experts agree that non-melanoma skin cancers account for more deaths worldwide than melanoma.
Data from 2020 indicates that while melanoma accounted for 57,000 deaths, non-melanoma skin cancers accounted for 63,700 deaths — 78% of all skin cancer cases, according to MNT.
Why the upsurge in non-melanoma skin cancer deaths?
The answer, in part, is due to the rise in frequency of non-melanoma skin cancers compared to their deadlier counterpart. Almost 1.2 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancers were documented worldwide in 2020, compared to 324,635 melanoma cases recorded the same year.
The occurrence rate of non-melanoma skin cancers and subsequent deaths have purportedly increased largely because of the advancing age of the population and the depletion of the ozone layer, according to MNT.
The good news is that non-melanoma skin cancer is treatable, even preventable, with proper awareness and timely treatment.
“You can reduce your risk of skin cancer by wearing sunscreen and protective clothing and by avoiding sun exposure during the brightest hours of sunlight (between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.). Indoor tanning is particularly risky since tanning beds and lamps expose the skin to intense UV rays that can damage the skin cells and cause cancer,” wrote dermatologic surgeon Kristin Bibee for Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Additionally, monthly self-examinations and annual exams by a physician are recommended to help decrease the risk of skin cancer, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
