Skin cancer

Over 46,000 new cases of skin cancer are reported every year in the UK. It is no surprise that skin cancers are the commonest of all malignancies since the skin is the largest and most accessible of our organs, directly exposed to environmental carcinogens. Epidemiological studies have provided important clues to the aetiology of skin cancer. Basal cell carcinoma (rodent ulcer) accounts for over 75% of all cases of skin malignancy in the Western world. Recent research into the epidemiology and genetics of basal squamous cell carcinomas suggests that they should be separately considered rather than, as previously, regarded collectively as a contrasting condition to melanoma but otherwise essentially similar to each other. Malignant melanoma is a far less common skin tumour than the other cancers, but has a much worse prognosis.