Alfonso Berrocal
Associate Professor of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Valencia; Chief Physician of the Medical Oncology Department, Valencia University General Hospital Consortium
The main interest of this epidemiological study lies in the large population analyzed from a large global database and the fact that its conclusions focus on patients over 65 years of age, a population that is rapidly growing due to increased life expectancy, which is leading to an aging population. It informs us that melanoma (the most lethal of skin cancers) has possibly stabilized due to preventive measures, but that other types of skin cancer are on the rise, with squamous cell carcinoma accounting for a significant proportion of disability and deaths from the disease, highlighting the need to address these neoplasms from a preventive standpoint.
The study is of high quality, above all due to the volume of cases analyzed, and the conclusions and data observed fit perfectly with current experience in the field. The main confounding factor is the increase in cases simply due to population growth, but this has been taken into account by the authors and corrected with standardized rates.
The implication for the future is that squamous cell skin cancer will be a major health problem in the coming years and that prevention and early diagnosis measures must be implemented.