Sweden: Skin cancer in young adults decreases, a first in Europe

The risk of skin cancer decreases in those under 50, Hildur Helgadottir, associate professor of oncology at the Karolinska Institute and lead author of a study published in the medical journal JAMA Dermatology, told AFP.

The decline is likely largely due to increased awareness of the need to protect skin from the sun and less access to solariums, she added.

“There was a clear and significant reversal of trend around 2015” she explains.

“Before 2015, people in their thirties were experiencing an increase (in skin cancer) of 5% per year on average. But since 2015, this has decreased by an average of five percent per year” she said.

For those over 50, the incidence rate of skin cancer “increases by at least 5% per year and the increase accelerates with age” she adds.

Although the researchers did not analyze the causes of the decline in skin cancer incidence, they believe that several major factors played a role.

In addition to better protection, the minimum age set in 2018 at 18 years for access to solariums in Sweden and a decline in the number of these solariums for much longer have played a role.

Mobile phones and computers also likely played a role, with young people spending more time indoors and therefore less exposed to the sun, Helgadottir added.

This trend is however more recent and “has not yet had a significant effect“.

In terms of mortality due to skin cancer, the decline is visible up to the age of 59 but not for those over 60.

The decrease in mortality in younger groups is attributed both to a reduction in the incidence of skin cancer and to the introduction of new anticancer drugs that have improved the prognosis of the disease.

Among the elderly, mortality is not decreasing because the incidence of the disease is still very high, the researcher said.