New Delhi, May 24 (IANS). According to a study, cases of skin cancer are increasing in the last three decades. Especially there has been a sharp increase in such cancer cases in the elderly.
Researchers at the First Affiliated Hospital of Chongking Medical University in China, apart from aging, described population growth as a major reason for this.
The study also states that skin cancer burden is unevenly higher in countries with high socio-genocide index (SDI) levels.
In the paper published in JAMA Dermatology, the team said, “Older population (especially men and people living in high SDI countries) are facing rising cases of skin cancer. It shows that we have to do planning by focusing at higher risk. Also, it is important to pay attention to the treatment of cancer and its effective prevention.
In the study, researchers analyzed about 4.4 million new skin cancer cases melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma in 2021. This data is based on the Global Burden of Disease 2021 covering 204 countries and regions.
Conclusions have shown that the occurrence of squamous cell carcinoma that begins as the growth of cells on the skin has increased by about 2 percent per year from 1990 to 2021. Basal cell carcinoma and and melanoma also saw a boom. Both these are different types of skin cancer.
New Zealand and Australia recorded the highest rate of melanoma among people aged 65 years and above in 2021. East Asia experienced the fastest growth in the burden of basal cell carcinoma from 1990 to 2021.
Researchers said, “These findings highlight the immediate need for targeting and proper use of resources to the right to deal with the increasing public health challenge of skin cancer among the older population.”
-IANS
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