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In Australia, at least one in three people are diagnosed with keratinocyte cancers — predominantly cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) — during their lifetime. The cost to the Australian health system of treating these cancers was estimated to be $1.4 billion in 2019–20, or 12.1% of all cancer‐related health expenditure and 1.0% of total health expenditure.

Reliable estimates of changes in disease incidence are important for designing prevention activities and monitoring their success, and for planning health care services. Keratinocyte cancer incidence statistics are not available in Australia because these cancers are not registered by most state and territory cancer registries (exception: Tasmania). The incidence of keratinocyte cancers has been increasing by 1–8% per year in countries where they are routinely registered, including the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland. In the United States, the incidence of keratinocyte cancers increased during 1990–2004, then stabilised during 2004–2019. In Tasmania, the incidence of diagnosed BCCs increased during 1985–2018 by a mean 3% per year and that of SCCs by 4% per year.

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Authors: Catherine M Olsen, Nirmala Pandeya, Rachel E Neale and David C Whiteman

Article Type: Research