Skin cancer rates decreasing

It appears that Canadians are finally beginning to heed public health warnings and taking steps to protect themselves from harmful UV rays, according to some University of Alberta researchers.

Their study states that after decades of recorded increases, the rates of several types of sun-induced skin cancers are levelling off in Canada; in men, the rates are even slightly decreasing.

"All the previous studies that were published in Canada and all the current studies that are coming out of the United States are showing persistent increases, and have in fact claimed that there's a huge epidemic," said Dr. Andrei Metelitsa, a University of Alberta dermatology resident who ran the study with his colleagues.

"Obviously, this was worrying, so we thought it would be nice to see what was really happening by analyzing this very large group of individuals over a large period of time," he said.

The researchers studied two non-melanoma skin cancers: squamous cell carcinomas and basal cell carcinomas, both of which are slow-growing and rarely fatal. They can be seen as a scab that grows over a period of weeks or months, or as a rough patch of skin that bleeds and won't heal.

Genetic predispositions, such as having fair skin and blue eyes, increases one's risk, but repeated sunburns and chronic sun exposure are the key behavioural factors.

Using data from the Alberta Cancer Registry, Metelitsa and his group analyzed records from almost 100,000 patients in Alberta over a period of 20 years. What they discovered went directly against widespread expectations that skin cancer was continuing to escalate.

The group found rates for men increased by about four per cent per year between 1988 and 1996. The increase slowed, then rates leveled off in 2001 and started to decrease by one per cent a year. Rates for women increased by about three per cent a year until 2000 and have been stable since.

However, although the numbers are down, the group doesn't want people to be any less vigilant in applying their sunscreen.

"If anything, this just signifies that we're on the right track and that these type of cancers are very unique, in the sense that we can change our behaviour. By changing our behaviour, we can minimize our likeliness of developing these cancers," said Metelitsa.

First-year pharmacy student Ashley Letcher is passionate about establishing public awareness of sun safety. While attending the first of her pharmacy practicums in Hinton, Alberta, she is giving a presentation on sun-safety for a Grade 1 class at St. Gregory's elementary school.

"The presentation is pretty simple," she said. "Keep hydrated, stay in the shade, wear long-sleeves, hats, and sunglasses, re-apply sunscreen, and avoid direct or prolonged exposure between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m."