What is causing the rising number of skin cancer?
While some dermatologists believe that other factors, such as increased UV exposure resulting from the hole in the ozone layer, contribute to the rise in melanoma rates over the last 18 years, the irrefutable link between indoor tanning and melanoma makes tanning beds the prime suspect, Tsoukas said.
What is the most common trigger of skin cancers?
Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays. To lower your risk of getting skin cancer, you can protect your skin from UV rays from the sun and from artificial sources like tanning beds and sunlamps.
What is the survival rate for melanoma that is caught early?
Among all people with melanoma of the skin, from the time of initial diagnosis, the 5-year survival is 93%. Overall survival at 5 years depends on the thickness of the primary melanoma, whether the lymph nodes are involved, and whether there is spread of melanoma to distant sites.
Are skin cancers hereditary?
In some cases, however, skin cancers are hereditary and an increased risk of developing the disease can be passed from parent to child. It is estimated that roughly five to ten percent of melanoma cases are hereditary and caused by a pathogenic gene variant, or change in a gene sequence.
What is the survival rate of skin cancer?
5-year relative survival rates for melanoma skin cancer
| SEER stage | 5-year relative survival rate |
|---|---|
| Localized | 99% |
| Regional | 66% |
| Distant | 27% |
| All SEER stages combined | 93% |
What is the prevalence of skin cancer in the US?
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. The following statistics refer to melanomas of the skin. Non-epithelial skin cancers, which are not reflected below, represent 7% of skin cancers that are tracked by central cancer registries. These statistics also do not include data for basal cell…
How many people get cancer from indoor tanning?
More than 419,000 cases of skin cancer in the U.S. each year are linked to indoor tanning, including about 245,000 basal cell carcinomas, 168,000 squamous cell carcinomas and 6,200 melanomas. 24 More people develop skin cancer because of indoor tanning than develop lung cancer because of smoking. 24
What are the statistics for melanomas of the skin?
The following statistics refer to melanomas of the skin. Non-epithelial skin cancers, which are not reflected below, represent 7% of skin cancers that are tracked by central cancer registries. These statistics also do not include data for basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, which are not tracked by central cancer registries.
What are the risk factors for skin cancer?
The risk for each person can be affected by a number of different factors, which are described in Risk Factors for Melanoma Skin Cancer. The risk of melanoma increases as people age. The average age of people when it is diagnosed is 63. But melanoma is not uncommon even among those younger than 30.