Prevalence, Demographic, Socioeconomic and Disease trends of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer in New Zealand (2008-2022) from a large, targeted-screening Study

Abstract

Abstract Skin cancer shows geographic and ethnic variation. Australia and New Zealand—with predominantly fair-skinned populations, high UV indices and outdoor lifestyles—have the highest rates of skin cancer. However, population prevalence data is severely lacking. This study aimed to determine the demographics and socioeconomic disease trends of non-melanoma skin cancer prevalence in New Zealand over the last 15 years. 32839 diagnoses of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) between 2008 to 2022 were analyzed, including subtypes and body sites. Median age at diagnosis was 64 years; 88.4% patients were aged over 41 years; Higher socioeconomic quintile groups had a higher prevalence. Between 2012 and 2022, prevalence of BCC remained stable while prevalence of SCC increased annually. The mean age of BCC occurrence was 67 years (95% CI 67–68) for males and 65 years (95% CI 65–66) for females; mean age of SCC occurrence was 71 years (95% CI 71–72) for males and 72 years (95% CI 71–72) for females. The age of diagnosis of BCC is lower than for SCC. Our findings confirm that NMSC imposes a significant disease burden on New Zealand, and the probability of developing skin cancer increases with age. More effective skin cancer prevention and treatment is needed.