Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is causing more deaths than melanoma worldwide, according to a study presented at the EADV Conference 2023.
NMSC is less likely to be fatal than melanoma, but the global prevalence of NMSC is higher, which has led to more deaths, explained study investigator Thierry Passeron, MD, PhD, of Université Côte d’Azur in Nice, France.
Dr Passeron and colleagues conducted this study using skin cancer data from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and population data from sources such as the World Bank DataBank.
The data showed that, in 2020, the global incidence of skin cancers was about 1,556,978. When stratified by cancer type, NMSC had the highest incidence (n=1,198,073), followed by melanoma (n=324,635) and Kaposi sarcoma (n=34,270).
Overall, there were 135,860 skin cancer mortality in 2020. The highest number of deaths was seen with NMSC (n=63,731), followed by melanoma (57,043) and Kaposi sarcoma (n=15,086).
Skin Cancer Incidence and Mortality by Region
Dr Passeron and colleagues also evaluated regional differences using data for NMSC and melanoma. The incidence of these skin cancers (per 100,000 people) was highest in Oceania (208.91), followed by North America (116.83), Europe (67.91), Latin America (20.56), Africa (2.53), and Asia (2.38).
The skin cancer mortality rate (per 100,000 people) was highest in Oceania (7.4), followed by Europe (5.3), Latin America (3.1), North America (2.3), Africa (0.8), and Asia (0.8).
However, a differing trend emerged when the ratio of incidence to mortality was calculated. The largest ratio was observed in Asia (0.358), followed by Africa (0.331), Latin America (0.152), Europe (0.077), Oceania (0.035), and North America (0.019).
“African and Asian countries contribute to about 10% of skin cancer incidence worldwide,” Dr Passeron said in a press conference. “I think it’s very striking to understand that this population contributes about 42% in terms of cancer mortality. This mortality rate … is close to 6.8 times that … observed in Western countries.”
“[T]his survey and this study provide very important conclusions,” Dr Passeron continued. “First, demonstrating that nonmelanoma skin cancer accounts for a significant 52% of global skin cancer mortality, highlighting that there is a need for more research, awareness, and probably early intervention. The second part is that, although Caucasians have the highest skin cancer incidence, African and Asian nations face a mortality rate up to almost 7 times higher as compared to Western countries, indicating significant health care disparities.”
References:
Salah S, Khurana P, Balan D, Pardieu-Duthil L, Kerob D, Passeron T. A comprehensive analysis of global skin cancer incidence and mortality with a focus on dermatologist density and population risk factors. EADV 2023. October 11-14, 2023. Abstract 4345.
