Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancers in the world

Melbourne University. Australia: Research published this week in the Australasian Journal of Dermatology confirms that Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancers in the world but lacks in national reporting of the statistics.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin

Author: Dr Bryan Cho University of California SF 2009-01-22
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Skin: Appearance,Risk Factors, Treatment and Prevention

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a cancer of cells that make up the uppermost layer of the skin. Cancer is a condition where skin cells grow haphazardly, invade surrounding tissue and disrupt normal tissue function.  When diagnosed and treated early, most SCCs are not serious and can be cured. About 98-99% of SCCs are localized—the cancer is only present in the skin. However, if treatment is significantly delayed, SCC can spread and invade surrounding bone, cartilage or muscle. Only in rare cases can SCC metastasize (travel to nearby lymph nodes or distant organs) which can be life threatening. When SCC occurs in the most superficial layers of the skin it is called in situ. Squamous cell carcinoma that has invaded the underlying skin layers is known as invasive.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the second most common form of skin cancer with over 250,000 new cases per year in the United States. Roughly twenty percent of the skin cancers diagnosed each year is SCC.