Non-melanoma skin cancer statistics

Cases

New cases of non-melanoma skin cancer, 2016-2018, UK

Deaths

Deaths from non-melanoma skin cancer each year, 2018-2019 average, UK

  • There are around 156,000 new non-melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year, that's nearly 430 every day (2016-2018).
  • In females in the UK, non-melanoma skin cancer accounted for around 67,500 new cancer cases every year (2016-2018).
  • In males in the UK, non-melanoma skin cancer accounted for around 88,500 new cancer cases every year in 2016-2018.
  • Incidence rates for non-melanoma skin cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2016-2018).
  • Each year almost half (48%) of all new non-melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2016-2018).
  • Since the early 1990s, non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by more than two-and-a-half times (169%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than two-and-a-half times (163%), and rates in males have increased by more than two-and-a-half times (163%) (2016-2018).
  • Over the last decade, non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by more than two-fifths (42%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by more than two-fifths (42%), and rates in males have increased by two-fifths (40%) (2016-2018).
  • Non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates are projected to rise by 14% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be more than 262,000 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • Non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates in England in females are 40% lower in the most deprived quintile compared with the least, and in males are 42% lower in the most deprived quintile compared with the least (2013-2017).
  • Around 25,000 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer each year in England are linked with lower deprivation (around 10,800 in females and around 14,200 in males).
  • There are around 920 non-melanoma skin cancer deaths in the UK every year, that's more then two every day (2018-2019)
  • Non-melanoma skin cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death in the UK, accounting for less than 1% of all cancer deaths (2018-2019)
  • In females in the UK, non-melanoma skin cancer is not among the 20 most common causes of cancer death, with around 310 deaths every year (2018-2019)
  • In males in the UK, non-melanoma skin cancer is the 18th most common cause of cancer death, with around 600 deaths every year (2018-2019)
  • Mortality rates for non-melanoma skin cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 90+ (2018-2019)
  • Each year around three-quarters of all non-melanoma skin cancer deaths (76%) in the UK are in people aged 75 and over (2018-2019)
  • Since the early 1970s, non-melanoma skin cancer mortality rates have decreased by around a tenth (11%) in the UK. Rates in females have decreased by a third (33%), and rates in males have remained stable (2018-2019)
  • Over the last decade, non-melanoma skin cancer mortality rates have increased by almost two-fifths (37%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by around a fifth (21%), and rates in males have increased by almost two-fifths (40%) (2018-2019)
  • Non-melanoma skin cancer mortality rates are projected to fall by 9% in the UK between 2023-2025 and 2038-2040.
  • There could be around around 710 deaths of non-melanoma skin cancer every year in the UK by 2038-2040, projections suggest.
  • 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.
  • 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).
 
 

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.