Updating trends in cutaneous cancers in south-east Belgium

From data collected in a dermatopathology laboratory, the ratios between the numbers of specific cancers represent good markers for identifying any epidemiological shift in their prevalence and incidence among the reference population. The objective of the present study was to assess the ratios of the annual incidence of skin cancers in the Mosan region and Ardennes of Belgium over the past 6 years, and to compare the data with previous similar evaluations. A total of 7,640 skin cancers were collected and compared with regard to age and gender. Changes in time show that the trend of the increase in incidence of malignant melanoma (MM) is more impressive than that of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The age distribution of BCC and SCC confirms the increasing risk with ageing. By contrast, there is a steady decrease over the past decade in the mean age for MM, teenagers and young adults now form an expanding proportion of MM patients. There is an ongoing trend in diagnosing an increased number of skin cancers in our laboratory. This trend is particularly obvious for MM affecting young adults.