Sunlight and sunbeds and skin cancer in the UK - statistics

Table 6.1 shows a summary of current knowledge about sunlight, sunbeds and skin cancer.

Table 6.1: Strength of Evidence for Increased Risk of Skin Cancer due to UV Exposure

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Personal characteristics, UV exposure and skin cancer risk

People with light skin, hair or eyes, or freckles, are particularly susceptible to UV damage and therefore to melanoma and NMSC.11,12,13 People with any atypical moles (naevi), or with many common moles, have an increased risk of melanoma;14 and sun exposure can promote mole development.15 Taller women have an increased melanoma risk,16,17 perhaps because they have more body surface area to be exposed to UV. Though people with a family history of melanoma have roughly double the risk of developing melanoma themselves, and an increased risk of BCC,18,19,20 they do not typically engage more in sun-protective behaviours.21

Ultraviolet radiation from sun exposure 

Risk of melanoma is most strongly linked to intermittent exposure to high-intensity sunlight, which often results in sunburn (for example from sunbathing, doing watersports or holidaying in a place where the sun is strong).22

BCC and SCC are both caused by chronic sun exposure.8,9 The risk of BCC is also increased by intermittent sun exposure.6,7

Exposure to UV radiation has probably increased in recent decades in the UK population, as the number of overseas holidays by UK residents has increased (Figure 6.1).23

Figure 6.1: Holidays Abroad by UK Residents, 1980-2011

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It is also expected that climate change will cause more skin cancer cases in the future, as more UV radiation reaches us on Earth, and warmer temperatures encourage people to spend more time in direct sunlight.24

Cancer Research UK recommends that clothing, shade and sunscreen should be used together to protect the skin from sun damage. We should use around two tablespoonfuls of sunscreen for the whole body, and should never use sunscreen to spend longer in the sun.

Ultraviolet radiation from sunbeds

Using sunbeds increases the risk of melanoma, SCC and BCC, the most recent meta-analyses show.10,40

Using a sunbed without ever burning appears to be no safer – it can increase the risk of melanoma and early-onset BCC (diagnosed in people under 40 years old) by more than 60%, recent case-control studies have shown.25,26

In 2008 and 2009, 6% of 11-17-year-olds in England reported they had used a sunbed, and in 2008, 5% of under-25s in Northern Ireland reported currently using sunbeds.27,28

Use of sunbeds by under-18s is now banned across the UK, with legislation passed in Scotland in 2009, England and Wales in 2011, and Northern Ireland in May 2012.

section reviewed 15/08/12
section updated 18/01/13

Around 12,800 cases of malignant melanoma were diagnosed in the UK in 2010. Malignant melanoma incidence rates in Britain have more than quadrupled over the last 30 years. Incidence is expected to increase substantially over the next two decades, with rates growing by 1.8% per year, reaching around 21,800 cases in 2030.29

Statistics on the incidence of NMSC are known to be incomplete. However, NMSC is estimated to be around 10 times as common as melanoma,30 and is thought to be the most commonly diagnosed cancer in many countries worldwide.31,32 BCC is substantially more common than SCC.31 Almost 100,000 NMSC cases were recorded in the UK in 2010. BCC rarely metastasises, while SCC can spread to other parts of the body.33 Both forms are highly treatable and survival rates are very high.34 However, if left untreated, these tumours can become destructive, invading local tissues and causing disfigurement.35

section reviewed 15/08/12
section updated 15/08/12

Vitamin D is vital for bone health, and is also associated with lower risk of bowel cancer (though it is unclear whether this is a causal relationship).36,37 But it should not be necessary to sunbathe, tan or burn in order to make sufficient vitamin D to obtain health benefits, and excessive exposure to solar UV radiation is not a means of reducing the incidence or mortality of cancer.

Vitamin D is synthesised through exposure to UV radiation, but fair-skinned people need only a short period of exposure to make sufficient vitamin D, and any extra is turned into inactive substances.38,39 So more sun exposure does not equate to greater health benefits.

section reviewed 15/08/12
section updated 15/08/12