Substantial and Increasing Burden of Skin Cancer Seen in Older Adults

FRIDAY, May 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Older adults have a substantial and increasing burden of skin cancer, according to a study published online May 21 in JAMA Dermatology.

Ruiyao Wang, M.D., from The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University in China, and colleagues examined the global burden of skin cancer among adults aged 65 years or older from 1990 to 2021, and projected change to 2050 in a study using data from the Global Burden of Diseases Study 2021, which covers 204 countries and territories.

The researchers estimated 153,993 melanoma, 1,463,424 squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and 2,802,354 basal cell carcinoma (BCC) instances worldwide for 2021. The highest age-standardized rate of prevalence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) were seen for SCC (236.91, 6.16, and 95.50 per 100,000 population, respectively), while the highest incidence rate was seen for BCC (371.97 per 100,000). Compared with females, the disease burden was notably greater in males. A general upward trend was seen for the global burden of skin cancer among older people during the observation period. The primary contributor to this increase was population growth. A disproportionately higher burden was shouldered by countries with higher sociodemographic index levels. By 2050, only incidence and prevalence rates attributable to keratinocyte cancer, along with the DALYs rate related to BCC, would increase.

“Our results underscore the urgency to enact prevention and treatment strategies tailored to high-risk older populations,” the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text