SKIN CANCER; A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE IN AUSTRALIA

INTRODUCTION

Skin is the largest organ in the body which protects the body from external harm, loss of body fluid and regulates the body temperature. Cancer which is the uncontrolled growth and proliferation of abnormal cells in the body can occur in any of the three layers of the skin thereby resulting to basal cell carcinoma (BCC), Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) or melanoma indicating the primary source of the skin cancer. In Australia, about 2 out of 3 skin cancers are basal cell carcinoma (BCC) while about 1 in 3 skin cancers are squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and about 1 in 100 skin cancers are melanoma making non-melanoma cancers the commonest skin cancers in Australia.

RISK FACTORS OF SKIN CANCER

Skin cancer has various risk factors which include genetic risk factors such as fair skin, red or blonde hair, blue or green eye, having skin freckles and large number of moles, overexposure to ultraviolet radiation naturally through sun or artificially through tanning and a family or personal history of skin cancer are all risk factors. In Australia however, the majority of skin cancers are caused by overexposure and unprotected exposure to UV radiation.

 WHY IS SKIN CANCER A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE IN AUSTRALIA

•  Skin cancer is the most common kind of cancer in Australia and Australia has one of the highest rates of diagnoses globally¹. With 2 out of 3 Australian being diagnosed with it during their lifetime², it poses a major public health concern in Australia.
• Skin cancer isphysically disfiguring, mentally draining and deadly thus it tremendously affects quality of life of the patient.
• Over 1 million treatments are given each year for non-melanoma cancer costing over $700 million and creating asignificantly heavy economic burden on Australians and the government.
• About 2000 Australians die each year for skin cancer³ thus making it a major public health issue in Australia.

INCIDENCE

15,628 new cases of melanoma of the skin was diagnosed in Australia in 2019 while 18,257 new cases were estimated in 2023⁴.

MORTALITY RATE

In 2021, there were 1,455 deaths from melanoma of the skin in Australia while In 2023, it was estimated that there will be 1,314 deaths⁴.

SURVIVAL

Individuals diagnosed with melanoma of the skin between 1990–1994  had a 90% chances of survival for five years compared to their counterparts in the general Australian population and this increased to 94% from 2015–2019⁴.

PUBLIC HEALTH CAMPAIGN

The incidence rate of skin cancer in Australia is not overly high over the years due to the extensive public education around the country. “Slip, slop, slap” a campaign initiated in the 1980 and “SunSmart” initiated in 1987 by the Cancer Council Victoria have contributed tremendously in creating awareness of the effect of unnecessary and unprotected exposure to UV radiation and steps to prevent skin cancer.

SunSmart developed a free SunSmart Global UV app where daily sun protection are issued whenever UV index levels are 3 or higher, an important tool against the fight of skin cancer in Australia.

CONCLUSION

The geographical location of Australia around the equator is the prime reason skin cancer has been a major public health issue in Australia though public health programs have created a widespread awareness of prevention techniques which has resulted to slight decrease in the rate of skin cancer mortality in recent times, this campaign is also faced with strong challenges because over half of 1000 people interviewed by Cancer Council believe that sunscreen contains chemical ingredients such as oxybenzone and octinoxate that are endocrine disruptors and its constant use could be detrimental to health.

REFERENCES

1.  Ferlay J, Soerjomatram I, Ervik M, Dikshit R, Eser S, Mathers C, Rebelo M, Parkin D, Forman D, Bray F. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase No. 11. IARC, World Health Organisation, 2013.
2. Staples MP, Elwood M, Burton RC, Williams JL, Marks R, Giles GG. Non-melanoma skin cancer in Australia: the 2002 national survey and trends since 1985. Med J Aust. 2006;184(1):6–10.
3. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Causes of Death, Australia, 2017.  Vol. 3303.0. Australian Bureau of Statistics: Canberra, Australia, 2018.
4. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Cancer data in Australia. [homepage on the internet] Canberra, Australia: AIHW; https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/cancer/cancer-data-in-australia/contents/summary.

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