Brighton medical school highlights long-term surge in cancer from sun damage

With just over 16,000 new cases each year on average, skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK. The BSMS study, published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, analysed data from more than 265,000 people diagnosed with skin cancer in England between 1981-2018.

Excessive exposure to UV radiation from the sun (or sunlight) is the main environmental risk factor for developing skin cancer. It is estimated that about 86% of all skin cancers in the UK are attributable to excessive exposure to sunlight. Exposure to artificial sources of UV radiation from indoor tanning beds/lamps is the second most important cause of skin cancer.

Professor Anjum Memon

Infographic showing malignant melanoma incidences

The study's lead author, Professor Anjum Memon - Chair in Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine at the medical school (a partnership between the universities of Brighton, Sussex and the local NHS health community) - said: “Our study shows that overall there has been a steady and significant increase in rates of skin cancer during the last four decades, which was essentially due to the continually increasing rates in middle (age 35-64 years) and old (65+ years) ages. The steeper increase in males is consistent with their relatively greater sun exposure and poor sun-protective behaviour.”

Professor Memon highlighted lifestyle factors behind the figures. “All the available evidence suggests that the enormous increase in the rates of skin cancer of the trunk (+817% in males, +613% in females) and arms (+750% in males, +518% in females) since the 1980s in England can be mostly attributable... to societal changes. For example, (i) sunbathing, (ii) holidaying in a place with strong sunlight, (iii) proliferation of indoor tanning studios, budget holiday industry and airlines, (iv) increasing trend in travel to sunnier locations and (v) use of sunbeds.”

The research also offered some positive news, however. Peter Bannister, medical student at BSMS and co-author of the study said: “The study also showed, for the first time, that the rates of skin cancer in young people (aged 0-34 years) in England have stabilised (or levelled off) during the last two decades. This finding suggests that public health campaigns targeted at children, adolescents and parents may be favourably influencing skin cancer incidence.

“The stabilisation of incidence in young people is encouraging and emphasises the importance of continued and sustained primary prevention measures to further improve sun-protective behaviours – such as avoidance of excessive exposure to sunlight and indoor tanning, appropriate clothing and application of sunscreens.”