Epidemiology

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common malignancy of the skin in white adults in the US, Australia, and Europe, and its incidence is increasing.[12][13] CRUK Cancer incidence statistics Opens in new window​ BCC occurs in all ethnicities, and it may be missed in Asian and black skin.[14]

BCC may not be reported to cancer registries or, when it is, may be recorded under the term 'non-melanoma skin cancer'.[15][16] Determining the exact incidence of BCC is therefore difficult. Using procedure rate code numbers from a US Medicare dataset and claims filed for approved procedures with associated ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision) diagnosis codes, the 2012 age-adjusted procedure rate for BCC was estimated to be 3280 per 100,000 beneficiaries.[16]

The incidence in the UK has been estimated at 128 new cases per 100,000 population in males and 105 per 100,000 in females. The annual incidence in Australia is higher: 2058 per 100,000 in males and 1195 per 100,000 in females.[4]

Use of this content is subject to our disclaimer