TOPLINE

In a national cohort study in England, the incidence of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) and non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) mortality rose from 2013 to 2022, and the incidence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) stabilised from 2015 onwards.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers analysed all new keratinocyte cancers diagnosed in England from 2013 to 2022 using data from the National Disease Registration Service.
• Tumours were counted using the per patient per annum method, allowing each patient to contribute one BCC and one CSCC per year. The median age at diagnosis was approximately 74 years for BCC and 80 years for CSCC.
• The researchers calculated annual percentage change (APC) and assessed trends in European age-standardised incidence rates (EASRs), age-specific incidence rates (ASIRs), and age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) by sex and age per 100,000 person-years (PYs), with primary analyses restricted to the pre-pandemic period from 2013 to 2019.

TAKEAWAY

• For BCC, EASRs increased from 277 per 100,000 PYs in 2013 to 309 per 100,000 PYs in 2015 (APC, 6.1%; 95% CI, 4.4%-7.4%) and then stabilised from 2015 to 2019, with a non-significant change (APC, -0.2%; 95% CI, -0.8% to 0.3%).
• For CSCC, EASRs increased from 79 per 100,000 PYs in 2013 to 89 per 100,000 PYs in 2015 (APC, 6.1%; 95% CI, 5.8%-6.4%) and then continued to increase from 2015 to 2019 at a slower rate (APC, 2.3%; 95% CI, 2.1%-2.4%).
• NMSC ASMRs increased from 2013 (APC, 4.0%; 95% CI, 2.5%-5.7%), with rates rising approximately twice as fast in male individuals (APC, 4.4%; 95% CI, 2.4%-7.1%) compared with female individuals (APC, 2.2%; 95% CI, 0.3%-4.6%).
• For CSCC, ASIRs plateaued in middle age groups from 2015 onwards but continued to increase in individuals younger than 60 years and those aged 80 years or older through 2019.
• In 2022, EASRs were 295 per 100,000 PYs for BCC and 102 per 100,000 PYs for CSCC.

IN PRACTICE

"This study advances our understanding of the epidemiology of KCs [keratinocyte cancers] and highlights the importance of accurate case ascertainment within national cancer registries to ensure that disease burden is appropriately captured," the authors of the study wrote. "These findings provide important insights to inform targeted prevention strategies, including education and risk-based screening, to mitigate this growing burden," they added.

SOURCE

The study was led by Khaylen Mistry, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England. It was published online on July 28, 2026, in the British Journal of Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS

This observational study could not establish causality. Keratinocyte cancers may have been underreported because only one tumour per patient per year was registered. The stage of tumours was unavailable. Misclassification remained possible, and ethnicity data were incomplete, which prevented stratified analyses by ethnicity. These data gaps may have affected the accuracy and interpretation of the findings.

DISCLOSURES

This study did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Mistry disclosed serving as a deputy editor of Clinical and Experimental Dermatology. Another author disclosed being a project collaborator with Merck (unpaid), Regeneron, and Skin Analytics, with fees paid to an institutional research account, and serving as a section editor for the British Journal of Dermatology.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.