Protecting Your Skin: Essential Stats and Why Early Detection Matters

By Andrew Garrett, MD

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States and worldwide. Approximately 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70. Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, followed by squamous cell carcinoma. Organ transplant patients are approximately 100 times more likely than the general public to develop squamous cell carcinoma. Regular daily use of SPF 15 or higher sunscreen reduces the risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma by about 40 percent.

The number of new invasive melanoma cases diagnosed annually increased by 42 percent over the past decade, numbering an estimated 212,200 cases in 2025. Compared with stage I melanoma patients treated within 30 days of being biopsied, those treated 30 to 59 days after biopsy have a 5% higher risk of dying from the disease, and those treated more than 119 days after biopsy have a 41% higher risk. Only 20-30% of melanomas are found in existing moles, while 70-80% are found in apparently normal skin. A person’s risk of melanoma doubles if they have had 5 or more sunburns. From ages 15 to 39, men are 55% more likely than women to die of melanoma. Melanoma in children and adolescents accounts for 3% of all pediatric cancers in the US. Treatment in childhood is often delayed due to misdiagnosis of pigmented lesions, which occurs up to 40% of the time.