Basal-cell carcinoma
Basal-cell cancer is a very common skin cancer. It is much more common in fair-skinned individuals with a family history of basal-cell cancer and increases in incidence closer to the equator or at higher altitude. There are approximately 800,000 new cases yearly in the United States alone. Up to 30% of Caucasians develop basal-cell carcinomas in their lifetime. In Canada, the most common skin cancer is basal-cell carcinoma (as much as one third of all cancer diagnoses), affecting 1 in 7 individuals over a lifetime.
Basal-cell carcinoma
Basal-cell carcinoma is a common skin cancer and occurs mainly in fair-skinned patients with a family history of this cancer. Sunlight is a factor in about two-thirds of these cancers; therefore, doctors recommend sunscreens with at least SPF 30. However, a Cochrane review examining the effect of solar protection (sunscreen only) in preventing the development of basal-cell carcinoma or cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma found that there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate whether sunscreen was effective for the prevention of either of these keratinocyte-derived cancers. The review did ultimately state that the certainty of these results were low, so future evidence could very well alter this conclusion. One-third occur in non-sun-exposed areas; thus, the pathogenesis is more complex than UV exposure as "the" cause.