Improving outcomes for people with skin tumours including melanoma

Improving Outcomes for
People with Skin Tumours
including Melanoma
Background
In contrast to MM, from 1970 to 2001 the age-standardised mortality
rates declined in both men and women. The recorded mortality
halved in females (0.6 to 0.3 per 100,000 population) and nearly
halved in men (1.2 to 0.7 per 100,000 population). Mortality rates
recorded in 2001 are higher in men than in women, the figure for
men having remained almost consistently double that for women
since 1970 [16] (Figure 10).
1
Figure 10. Age-standardised mortality from NMSC, England
and Wales, 1971–2001
Mortality per 100,000 population
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
Multiple primaries
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
Year
Males
Females
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
Many skin cancer patients develop multiple cancers of different
histological types, and it is not uncommon for a patient to present with
any combination of MM, SCC and BCC or to present with one type and
develop another subsequently. As described previously, cancer
registration practices vary significantly, making an accurate assessment
of the risk of presenting with or developing metachronous cancers
difficult.
Rare skin tumours
It is estimated that approximately 90 skin cancers that fall into the rare
skin cancer group definition are diagnosed each year in the South
West region of England [17], which had a population of approximately
4.94 million in 2001. The types are listed in Appendix 1.
20 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence