Incidence of basal and squamous cell carcinoma:

• Basal cell carcinoma statistics are not well documented since many cases are successfully treated in a doctor’s office and may not be reported.
• Where they are reported, basal cell and squamous carcinoma are classified as “nonmelanoma cancers” (basal cell carcinoma comprises 80% of nonmelanoma cancers).
• Statistics for squamous cell carcinoma are usually reported together with basal cell carcinoma under the classification “nonmelanoma cancers”.
• Squamous cell carcinoma comprises 20% of nonmelanoma cancers.
• In Canada, 73,000 new cases of nonmelanoma cancers are estimated for 2008; of these, 260 are estimated to result in death.
• In the United States, approximately 1 million cases of nonmelanoma cancer are diagnosed each year; of these about 2,000 result in death.
• Basal cell carcinoma can recur in the same or other places on the skin. Within 5 years of diagnosis, 35-50% of patients develop a new skin cancer.

• In Canada, an estimated 4600 new cases of melanoma will occur in 2008; of these, 910 cases will likely result in death
• In the United States, an estimated 62,480 new cases will occur in 2008; about 8,420 will die of the disease
• The lifetime probability of developing melanoma in males is 1 in 74, and in women, 1 in 90.
• People at risk include those with a personal or family history of melanoma, light eyes and hair or skin that burns or freckles easily, and severe sunburn in childhood.