This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (68)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Anna Hannuksela-Svahn, MD; Eero Pukkala, PhD; Jaakko Karvonen, MD, PhD

Arch Dermatol. 1999;135:781-786.

Objective  To study trends of nonmelanoma skin cancer in Finland.

Design  Descriptive analysis of incidence and mortality rates for basal cell skin carcinoma (BCC) and other nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) from 1966 and 1956, respectively, through 1995 in relation to sex, age, anatomical distribution, place of residence, and occupation.

Setting  Data were obtained from the nationwide Finnish Cancer Registry, to which reporting of skin cancer is compulsory.

Patients  Inhabitants of Finland (5.1 million in 1998).

Main Outcome Measures  Age- and sex-specific incidence and mortality rates and overall rates adjusted for age to the world standard population; occupation-specific standardized incidence ratios, with the total Finnish population as reference.

Results  The age-adjusted incidence rate in 1991 through 1995 for BCC was 49 per 100,000 person-years in men and 45 in women. For NMSC it was 8.7 in men and 5.3 in women. Both cancer types showed an increasing trend in incidence rates. The proportion of tumors in the face, scalp, and neck was 59% for BCC and 67% for NMSC. The incidence rate of NMSC increased from north to south, while there was no great urban-rural or occupational variation in the occurrence of NMSC. The incidence rate for BCC was higher in urban than in rural regions. Farmers, forestry workers, and fishermen showed low incidence of BCC, whereas occupations with a high level of education or compulsory health checkups and medical care occupations appeared to have an increased incidence of BCC. The mortality rate for BCC in 1991 through 1995 was 0.08 per 100,000 person-years in men and 0.05 in women, and for NMSC, it was 0.38 in men and 0.23 in women. The mortality trend was decreasing for both cancer types.

Conclusions  The incidence of NMSC is fairly low in Finland, accounting for 3.5% of all new cancer cases. Conversely, BCC is the most common cancer type. The incidence trend is increasing for both skin cancer types, but mortality remains low.

From the Department of Dermatology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland (Drs Hannuksela-Svahn and Karvonen); and Finnish Cancer Registry, Helsinki, Finland (Dr Pukkala).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

RELATED ARTICLES

Archives of Dermatology Reader's Choice: Continuing Medical Education
Arch Dermatol. 1999;135(7):761-762.
FULL TEXT  

The Mysteries of Geographic Variability in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Incidence
Robert S. Stern
Arch Dermatol. 1999;135(7):843-844.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Molecular basis of basal cell carcinogenesis in the atomic-bomb survivor population: p53 and PTCH gene alterations
Mizuno et al.
Carcinogenesis 2006;27:2286-2294.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Incidence of Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinomas in a Population Younger Than 40 Years
Christenson et al.
JAMA 2005;294:681-690.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Mortality (1988-2000): The Rhode Island Follow-Back Study
Lewis and Weinstock
Arch Dermatol 2004;140:837-842.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Changes in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Incidence between 1977-1978 and 1998-1999 in Northcentral New Mexico
Athas et al.
Cancer Epidemiol. Biomarkers Prev. 2003;12:1105-1108.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Mysteries of Geographic Variability in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Incidence
Stern
Arch Dermatol 1999;135:843-844.
FULL TEXT