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Skin cancer cases on rise in Australia

2022.03.17 0+

Skin cancer cases on rise in Australia

SYDNEY, March 10 (Xinhua) -- More than two out of three Australians will need skin cancer treatment during their lifetime as rates of the disease rise steadily, according to a report released on Thursday.

The findings, published by the Sax Institute's Public Health Research & Practice journal, are based on statistics gathered on basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and the less common squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), both of which are collectively known as keratinocyte cancers or non-melanoma cancers (NMCs).

The science team behind the report calculated that about 73 percent of the nation's men and 65 percent of the women will eventually have at least one NMC removed.

The report noted that NMC cases had increased over the past three decades at an annual rate of 2 to 6 percent and warned the numbers could even be higher because the data was not uniformly recorded throughout Australia, which needs to be rectified by health authorities.

Epidemiologist Professor David Whiteman of the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in the state of Queensland told Xinhua on Thursday that it was vital for people to get their skin screened by a general doctor or dermatologist.

Whiteman said there was "no one-size-fits-all advice" for when to get screened, saying the frequency was "dependent on people's age, gender and risk factor profile".

Cancer Council Australia's Adjunct Associate Professor Craig Sinclair told Xinhua that people should regularly check their "skin for spots that might be changing in shape, color or size" and if they "notice anything suspicious," to quickly seek medical advice.

NMCs can often look like firm red nodules, or scaly patches that bleed or itchy dark spots and commonly occur on sun-exposed areas of the body such as the nose, forehead, ears, lower lip, or hands.

The researchers said if an NMC was cut out at the appropriate time, then the person's survival rate was excellent but if BCCs were left untreated they could damage nerves and nearby tissue, while SCCs could spread throughout the body; with the metastases leading to more than 500 deaths in Australia each year.

Whiteman said the nation's aging demographics was a basic reason behind the steady rise in cases, saying the accumulated damage caused by decades spent under sunny Australian skies took its toll on people's skin.

Sinclair added that the nation's very high levels of ultraviolet radiation, particularly in its northern regions, along with many Australians having fair complexions, were also contributing factors. 


https://english.news.cn/20220310/75497def70c9435c8931626717a71d4e/c.html