Skin cancer may have soared in wealthy nations since 1985, but researchers told a medical conference in Glasgow on November 3 that mortality among women rising more slowly and even declining compared to men.
The reasons for this might still be unconfirmed but evidence suggest that men are less likely to protect themselves from the sun or follow public health warnings, lead researcher Dorothy Yang, a doctor at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust in London, told AFP.
"More than 90 percent of melanoma cancers are caused by skin cell damage from exposure to the sun or other sources of ultraviolet (UV) radiation such as tanning beds, according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In 8 of 18 countries examined, men's skin cancer deaths increased over 3 decades by at least 50 percent," a report added.
Ireland and Crotia reportedly doubled in its skin cancer ratio. Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, France and Belgium also reported an increase on skin cancer rates.
In Australia, nearly 6 out of 100,000 men succumbed to skin cancer in 2013-2015.
"Australia has been an early implementer of public health media campaigns since the 1970s to promote 'sun-smart' behavior," Yang told AFP before presenting her data at the 2018 UK National Cancer Research Institute Conference.
Japan has, by far, the lowest melanoma mortality for men and women at 0.24 and 0.18 per 100,000, respectively.
Yang added that scientists are investigating whether genetic factors or biological factors may play as a role in skin cancer.
