New AIHW data provides a more accurate assessment of the impact of non-melanoma skin cancer.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has released a new report focused on the incidence and mortality associated with non-melanoma skin cancer.
The report, Estimating common non-melanoma skin cancer incidence and mortality in Australia, examined whether using linked data from a variety of sources could provide an estimate of how many people are diagnosed with common NMSC, the number of deaths from common NMSC, and whether there are differences in the number of recorded cancer deaths between different datasets.
NMSCs are skin cancers that start in the basal and squamous cells, which make up the lower and upper layers of our skin. Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, Merkel cell carcinoma, and dermatofibrosarcoma are all different kinds of NMSC.
“In 2023–24, NMSC was the [third] most expensive cancer in terms of health system expenditure, at about $1.9 billion. In comparison, melanoma cost $596 million during the same period,” the report said.
Data were sourced from the AIHW’s Australian Cancer Database, the National Mortality Database, the Medicare Consumer Directory, the Medicare Benefits Schedule dataset, and the 2016 Census of Population and Housing Data.
The investigation found that for each year between 2020 and 2024, there were between 772,000 and 853,000 services to surgically remove common NMSC, and that around 2% of Australians (approximately half a million people) had a NMSC surgically removed. The age-standardised rate of common NMSC surgical removal was 1585.5 per 100,000 persons in 2020, 1472.2 per 100,000 in 2022, and 1541.0 per 100,000 in 2024.
“It should be noted that 2020 to 2022 coincided with ongoing public health measures resulting from the covid pandemic and might have reduced skin cancer excision services during that period,” the report read.
Age-standardised rates of surgical removal for common NMSC were higher in males than in females (1898.8 per 100,000 compared to 1227.8 per 100,000 in 2024) and in older people compared to younger people (11672.2 per 100,000 in adults ≥85 years compared to 191.7 per 100,000 in anyone under the age of 50 for 2024).
Queenslanders had more common NMSC surgically removed each year than any other jurisdiction (2282.6 per 100,000 in 2024), almost double that of Western Australia (1350.4 per 100,000), New South Wales (1324.9 per 100,000), and the Northern Territory (1310.3 per 100,000). In contrast, Victoria had the lowest rates of surgical removal for common NMSC (895.0 per 100,000).
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The rate of surgically removed NMSC in Non-Indigenous Australians was roughly 2.4 times that in First Nations people (1382.2 per 100,000 compared to 583.3 per 100,000 using data from 2024).
An estimated 5200 people died from common NMSC between 2011 and 2021, which translates to an age-standardised rate of approximately two deaths per 100,000 people each year.
The age-standardised mortality rate was slightly higher in males than in females (three deaths per 100,000 in men compared to one death per 100,000 in women), increased dramatically with age (0.1 per 100,000 in people under 50 between 2017 and 2021 compared to 69 per 100,000 in people aged ≥90), and in non-Indigenous Australians compared to First Nations peoples (2.3 versus 1.3 per 100,000 in 2017-2021).
“The AIHW is continuing to work with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Melanoma Institute Australia, and the population-based cancer registries to improve skin cancer data, including multiple primary melanomas,” the report concluded.
“Additionally, the AIHW is investigating the feasibility of additional linked data assets such as the National Health Data Hub to understand current treatment pathways for those diagnosed with melanoma in Australia.”
Sally Blane, chair of the Cancer Council’s national skin cancer committee, said the figures highlighted that skin cancer still places a serious burden on Australians.
“These figures from the AIHW confirm what we see every day. Non-melanoma skin cancer is Australia’s most common cancer by a significant margin, affecting half a million people every year and costing our health system close to $2 billion annually.
“Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with skin cancer in their lifetime. Thankfully, we know most skin cancers can be prevented.
“The best line of defence is to be prepared whenever the UV Index is three or above. That means protecting against the sun in five ways: Slip on sun protective clothing, Slop on SPF50 or SPF50+, broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen, Slap on a broad-brim hat, Seek shade when possible, and Slide on sunglasses.”
Ms Blane said that Australians can strive for a different reality from the current one, where most will be affected by some form of skin cancer in their lifetime.
“Australia’s most common cancer is also the most preventable. Implementing sun protection habits at any age makes a real difference.”
The findings from the report will serve as a reference for the planned roadmap detailing a national targeted melanoma screening program.
The full report can be accessed via the AIHW website.
