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Data show nonmelanoma skin cancer rates rose dramatically from 2006 to 2012

There was a dramatic rise in incidence rates of skin cancer in the United States from 2006 to 2012, including a 35% increase in nonmelanoma skin cancer during that time, according to recently published study results.

Researchers calculated the total number of skin cancer procedures performed for Medicare beneficiaries from 2006 to 2012 by analyzing U.S. government administrative data, including the CMS Physicians Claims databases. Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC)-related office visits were estimated using the population-based national Ambulatory Medical Care Center database.

NMSC incidences in the U.S. population and the incidence of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the Medicare fee-for-service population were primary outcome measures of the study.

Results showed skin cancer procedures in the Medicare fee-for-service population rose from 2,048,517 in 2006 to 2,321,058 in 2012, marking a 13% increase.

A 14% increase was observed in the number of procedures among Medicare beneficiaries specific for NMSC, from 1,918,340 to 2,191,100 between 2006 and 2012. During that time span, there was also a 14% increase in the number of people with at least one procedure for NMSC, according to the researchers.

Among patients in the 2012 Medicare fee-for-service population, the researchers found age-adjusted procedure rates for BCC and SCC were 3,280 and 3,278 per 100,000 beneficiaries, respectively, with a ratio of BCC to SCC treated in Medicare beneficiaries of 1.

In the U.S. population in 2012, it was estimated that the total number of NMSCs in the U.S. population in 2012 was 5,434,193. The researchers calculated 1.64 skin cancers treated per affected patient in 2012, and by extending that figure to the U.S. population, the total number of persons in the U.S. treated for NMSC was estimated to be 3,315,554.

The researchers concluded that the NMSC estimate supports skin cancer prevention and treatment efforts and displays the need for a national system of “sentinel registries” to track NMSC. – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosures: Rogers reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.