An estimation of the prevalence of nonmelanoma skin cancer in the U.S.

Abstract

Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia and has a significant impact on the cost of and use of healthcare resources. Current estimates of NMSC in the USA are 3.5 million cases in 2010 compared to 1.63 million cases of all other cancers combined.  However, we believe that this figure significantly underestimates the prevalence of NMSC in the USA.  We calculated that melanoma is diagnosed 5.7 times more in the USA than in Australia.  In Australia, in 2010, there were 767,000 NMSC diagnoses.  If the ratio of melanoma: NMSC is constant in both Australia and the USA, then there should be 5.7 times the number of NMSC in the USA or 4.3 million cases.  The assumptions that underlie this calculation are discussed.