'Wake-up call': Research reveals Queensland's skin cancer burden

Researchers have unveiled the substantial impact of skin cancer on Queensland, Australia, with a new study indicating that residents in mid-life undergo an estimated 1.5 million procedures for the disease each year. This burden translates into hundreds of millions of dollars in healthcare costs, prompting urgent calls for increased investment in prevention campaigns.

The study, a collaboration between the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute and Cancer Council Queensland, tracked over 40,000 Queenslanders aged 40 to 69 for eight years. Analyzing data from the Medical Benefits Schedule, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and hospital admissions, researchers found that participants underwent approximately 245,000 skin cancer procedures over the eight-year period, costing taxpayers more than $43 million.

Skin cancer accounts for about 2.4 percent of all direct healthcare costs in Queensland, according to the study's findings. The research revealed that 71 percent of participants had utilized at least one skin cancer service, with half undergoing biopsies and over a third having non-melanoma skin cancers removed. Additionally, five percent had melanomas excised, and eight percent required hospitalization for treatment.

Compounding these findings, separate research from QIMR Berghofer suggests that even short periods outdoors during times of low sunlight can lead to DNA damage, contributing to skin cancer risk. This challenges long-held beliefs that sun exposure early or late in the day poses no harm. The study, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, identified older males with private health insurance and lower education levels as the highest users of skin cancer services.

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We know what the main risk factor is for skin cancer, it's being exposed to the sun, and that can be