Melanoma skin cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of melanoma skin cancer each year, 2016-2018 average, UK.

Deaths

Deaths from melanoma skin cancer, 2017-2019, UK.

 

Survival

Survive melanoma skin cancer for 10 or more years, 2013-2017, England

Preventable cases

Melanoma skin cancer cases are preventable, UK, 2015

 

  • There are around 16,700 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year, that's 46 every day (2016-2018).
  • Melanoma skin cancer is the 5th most common cancer in the UK, accounting for 4% of all new cancer cases (2016-2018).
  • In females in the UK, melanoma skin cancer is the 5th most common cancer, with around 8,400 new cases every year (2016-2018).
  • In males in the UK, melanoma skin cancer is the 6th most common cancer, with around 8,400 new cases every year (2016-2018).
  • Incidence rates for melanoma skin cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2016-2018).
  • Each year more than a quarter (29%) of all new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
  • Since the early 1990s, melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have more than doubled (140%) in the UK. Rates in females have around doubled (106%), and rates in males have almost tripled (186%) (2016-2018).
  • Over the last decade, melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by around a third (32%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than a quarter (27%), and rates in males have increased by almost two-fifths (38%) (2016-2018).
  • See our new Early Diagnosis Data Hub for statistics on stage at diagnosis for melanoma skin cancer.
  • In females, the most common specific location for melanoma skin cancers in the UK is the lower limb, in males the most common specific location for melanoma skin cancers in the UK is the trunk (2016-2018).
  • Melanoma skin cancer incidence rates are projected to rise by 9% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around 26,500 new cases of melanoma skin cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Melanoma skin cancer incidence rates in England in females are 52% lower in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 54% lower in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 4,000 cases of melanoma skin cancer each year in England are linked with lower deprivation (around 2,000 in females and around 2,000 in males).
  • Incidence rates for melanoma skin cancer are lower in the Asian and Black ethnic groups, compared with the White ethnic group, in England (2013-2017). See our publication Cancer Incidence by Broad Ethnic Group for more details.
  • An estimated 110,300 people who had previously been diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer were alive in the UK at the end of 2010.

See more in-depth melanoma skin cancer incidence statistics

  • There are around 2,300 melanoma skin cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's more than 6 every day (2017-2019).
  • Melanoma skin cancer is the 20th most common cause of cancer death in the UK, accounting for 1% of all cancer deaths (2017-2019).
  • In females in the UK, melanoma skin cancer is the 18th most common cause of cancer death, with around 980 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • In males in the UK, melanoma skin cancer is the 17th most common cause of cancer death, with around 1,400 deaths every year (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for melanoma skin cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2017-2019).
  • Each year almost half of all melanoma skin cancer deaths (48%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2017-2019).
  • Since the early 1970s, melanoma skin cancer mortality rates have increased by around two-and-a-half times (141%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by around three-quarters (76%), and rates in males have around tripled (219%) (2017-2019).
  • Over the last decade, melanoma skin cancer mortality rates have remained stable in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by around a tenth (9%), and rates in males have remained stable (2017-2019).
  • Mortality rates for melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers combined are generally lower in people of non-White minority ethnicity, compared with the White ethnic group, where data is available, in England and Wales (2017-2019). See the publication Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales.
  • Melanoma skin cancer mortality rates are projected to fall by 12% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 2,800 deaths of melanoma skin cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Melanoma skin cancer deaths are less common in males living in the most deprived areas.

See more in-depth melanoma skin cancer mortality statistics

  • Almost 9 in 10 (87.4%) people diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in England survive their disease for ten years or more, it is predicted (2013-2017).
  • Melanoma skin cancer ten-year survival in England is higher in females than males (2013-2017).
  • More than 9 in 10 (93.0%) people in England diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer aged 15-44 survive their disease for ten years or more, compared with around 7 in 10 (70.9%) people diagnosed aged 75-99 (2013-2017).
  • Melanoma skin cancer survival has doubled in the last 50 years in the UK.
  • In the 1970s, almost half (46.1%) of people diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer survived their disease beyond ten years, by the 2010s it was 9 in 10 (89.5%).
  • More than 9 in 10 (93.1%) people in England diagnosed with melanoma in the least deprived group survive their disease for five years or more, compared with 9 in 10 (89.7%) people in the most deprived group (2016-2020).
  • Five-year relative survival for melanoma skin cancer is above the European average in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland but similar to or below the European average in Wales. Further details on cancer survival in Europe can be found on the EUROCARE website.
  • For melanoma skin cancer, like other cancer sites, survival trends reflect a combination of changes in treatment and stage distribution. These factors themselves can vary by age, sex and deprivation.
  • Further survival statistics by stage can be found on the Early Diagnosis Data Hub and information on treatments for cancer can be found here.
  • Further one-, five- and ten-year survival statistics can be found on the Cancer Statistics Dashboard.

Find further information on our melanoma skin cancer survival trends page

  • A person’s risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including age, genetics, and exposure to risk factors (including some potentially avoidable lifestyle factors).
  • Nearly 1 in 41 UK females and 1 in 35 UK males will be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
  • 86% of melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK are preventable.

See more in-depth melanoma skin cancer risk statistics

See the interactive cancer treatment online tool produced by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) in partnership with Cancer Research UK (CRUK). This presents, for the first time, population-based statistics on chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgical tumour resections in England, by demographic factors and geography.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the many organisations across the UK which collect, analyse, and share the data which we use, and to the patients and public who consent for their data to be used. Find out more about the sources which are essential for our statistics.