Highlights from the Midi-Pyrénées Regional Health Agency - Rising Incidence of Skin Cancer in France

The annual skin cancer prevention and screening day organized by the Syndicat des Dermatologues Vénérologues (SNDV) on May 24 provides an opportunity for public health authorities to highlight the importance of prevention and early detection of skin cancer. Nearly 80,000 cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in France. The incidence of melanoma (the most serious form of skin cancer due to its potential to metastasize) more than tripled between 1980 and 2005 and was estimated at 9,780 new cases in 2011. Based on data on medical causes of death, the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance (InVS) estimates that cutaneous melanoma was responsible for 1,620 deaths in France in 2011. This increase in the incidence of skin cancers can be explained by a trend leading to greater sun exposure and an increasingly widespread use of artificial ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Risk factors for skin cancer are primarily linked to skin exposure (duration and frequency of exposure) to solar and artificial ultraviolet radiation, and to skin phototype (fair skin and eyes, and red or blond hair being at the highest risk). In a 2005 report, ANSES already advocated for improved early detection of skin cancer and recommended that the general public limit exposure to natural or artificial ultraviolet radiation.

Developed in the 1970s and 1980s, tanning beds have enjoyed considerable popularity among the French in recent years. In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified artificial UV radiation as a definite human carcinogen. As part of the 2009–2013 Cancer Plan, the National Cancer Institute (INCa) published an overview of the cancer risks associated with this practice.

The special issue of the InVS’s Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH), published on May 23, reviews the effects of artificial tanning and provides an overview of the epidemiology of skin melanoma in France and Europe.