1. ¹Dermatoepidemiology Unit, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Brown Medical School/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
2. ²Department of Dermatology, Brown Medical School/Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Correspondence: Dr Martin A. Weinstock, Dermatoepidemiology Unit-111, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 830 Chalkstone Avenue, Providence, Rhode Island 02908, USA. E-mail: maw@brown.edu

Received 29 October 2006; Revised 11 March 2007; Accepted 12 March 2007; Published online 24 May 2007.

Abstract

The purpose of this population-based study was to assess trends in mortality rates for nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in the United States. Particular emphasis was placed on the subgroup of malignancies arising on genital skin. Nearly 75,000 deaths in the United States were attributed to NMSC from 1969 to 2000. The age-adjusted US mortality rate for NMSC arising on nongenital skin from 1969 to 2000 was 0.69/10⁵/year; the rate among men was twice that among women. Mortality rates among white men exceeded that of black men by a factor of two; the same was observed among women, but by a smaller multiple. Corresponding mortality rates for malignancies arising from genital skin (penis, scrotum, vulva) were higher in women (0.54) than in men (0.30). In contrast to nongenital NMSC, mortality rates among black men were twice that of white men; however, rates for white and black women were similar. These results suggest that greater emphasis could be placed on reducing mortality from genital NMSC while continuing to stress reduction of excess sun exposure.