In Belgium, the number of skin cancers has grown from 11,000 in 2004 to approximately 50,000 in 2024. Anyone who once had skin cancer also has a significantly greater chance of getting it a second time.
An estimated 50,000 Belgians will be diagnosed with skin cancer in 2024. In 2004 there were ‘only’ 11,000. “That is a fivefold increase in twenty years,” says dermatologist Thomas Maselis, chairman of the Euromelanoma dermatologist network. “No cancer rises faster.”
According to Maselis, the causes are clear. We are all getting older, which means that our skin is exposed to the sun’s UV rays for longer. We are also traveling more and more often, preferably to sunny places. In addition, more and more people are taking immunosuppressants, medication that inhibits the functioning of the immune system, while that system is very important for neutralizing skin tumors.
Just over one in ten skin cancer patients will develop the disease a second time. “Anyone who once had melanoma, by far the most dangerous type of skin cancer, is ten times more likely to develop a new melanoma,” says Maselis. Euromelanoma therefore emphasizes the importance of prevention. (mts)
