Who is at risk?

Anyone who is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun is at risk of skin cancer.

You are at increased risk for non-melanoma skin cancers if you:

• have had a lifetime or ‘cumulative’ exposure to the sun over many years
• are over the age of 50 years
• have fair skin, red or blond hair, and light-coloured eyes.

Risk factors for melanoma skin cancers are:

• skin colour (fairer skins have higher risk compared with medium or dark)
• hair colour (people with red or blond hair have higher risk than black hair)
• skin type (people who burn easily and never tan have higher risk)
• skin damage due to sunburn.

Factors that make you at high risk for melanoma are:

• a personal history of melanoma
• a family history of melanoma in a first-degree relative (eg, parent, brother or sister, child). This risk is higher if more than one relative had a melanoma, if they were young at the time or if one relative had more than one melanoma.
• a large number of moles on your skin (more than 50 moles)
• atypical (dysplastic) ‘funny looking’ moles on your skin
• a personal history of a previous non-melanoma skin cancer.

Melanoma is diagnosed most often in older adults, but it also sometimes occurs in younger adults and occasionally in teenagers. It is rare in children.

Read more: Cancer risk: Understanding the puzzle (United States National Cancer Institute website)