Experts favour skin cancer prevention over routine screening

Skin cancer mortality can be reduced more effectively through prevention than regular screening examinations, ORF reports. Van Anh Nguyen, head of the Skin Cancer Centre at Innsbruck University Clinic, said screening should focus on people at increased risk.

Austria has so far had no uniform recommendations for skin cancer screening. People aged 18 and over were generally advised to have their skin examined once a year, but the World Health Organization does not recommend this because it has not been shown to reduce mortality, Nguyen said.

Tyrol has a higher incidence of malignant melanoma, also known as black skin cancer. Experts from all of Austria’s provinces recently issued a common recommendation: everyone should be assessed once from the age of 18 to determine whether they are at increased risk. Those identified as high-risk patients should then have regular examinations, while routine checks are not necessary for others.

The risk of developing skin cancer increases from around the age of 50 or 60, Nguyen said.

Who is at increased risk

High-risk patients include people with skin type one, characterised by fair skin, freckles, blue eyes and a tendency to develop sunburn easily. They also include people with more than 60 moles, at least four unusual moles, or a family history of melanoma.

People with non-melanoma skin cancer and those with suppressed immune systems, such as patients who have undergone transplants, are also considered at increased risk.

Two-thirds of melanomas develop as new growths rather than from existing moles, Nguyen said. She therefore recommends self-examinations and checks by partners. Any newly appearing skin changes should also be examined by a doctor.

Prevention is more effective than screening, Nguyen said. She cited Australia as an example, where children learn from an early age how to protect themselves from the sun, helping to reduce mortality.

The Skin Cancer Centre at Innsbruck University Clinic treats about 200 melanoma patients each year, providing surgery and cancer care. Telemedicine is also increasingly being used in dermatology: patients can have their skin examined by a family doctor, after which specialists assess the images.

Tyrol’s altitude and lifestyle contribute to an increased risk of skin cancer, according to the report. Statistics show that about 50 people die from skin cancer in Tyrol each year.