International
cotland, like the rest of the United
Kingdom, is experiencing a sub-
stantial increase in skin cancers.
Incidence rates of both melanoma
and nonmelanoma skin cancers in Scotland
have almost tripled in the past 20 years and are
still rising.
1
There were 1,202 new cases of mela-
noma in Scotland in 2011 (with 176 deaths from
the disease), compared to 491 new cases in 1991.
1
In general, the incidence of melanoma steadily in-
creases after the age of 20-24, reaching a peak at
the age of 85 or older in both sexes. However, in
the last two decades, young patients are increas-
ingly being diagnosed with skin cancers; about
27 percent of melanoma cases in Scotland now
occur in those under 50 years of age,
2
though the
increasing death rate from melanoma has been
seen mainly in the elderly.
2
In Scotland, some people are dying for a little color
Muthu Sivaramakrishnan, MRCP, and Colin Fleming, MRCP
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