SKIN cancer is now the most common form of the disease among women in their twenties, campaigners said yesterday.
Cancer Research UK said that melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – has overtaken cervical cancer to be the most common cancer in 20-somethings, with a total of 340 cases a year.
This is almost double the number of women diagnosed with bre
ast cancer while in their twenties.
A love of sunbeds and "binge tanning" on holiday is thought to be behind the rise.
Launching its SunSmart campaign to encourage sensible behaviour in the sun, the charity warned people of all ages to stay away from sunbeds and use a high factor sun lotion.
For women in their thirties, deadly skin cancer is now the third most common cancer after that of the breast and cervix. The figures are taken from 2005, the most recent data available.
About 50 women under the age of 40 in the UK die from melanoma each year, with deaths among all ages totalling about 1,800 each year.
However, experts predict these figures will rise – by the year 2024, Cancer Research UK experts say that malignant melanoma will be the fourth most common cancer for men and women of all ages.
Cases will rise from around 9,000 each year to more than 15,500, the charity predicts.
A recent study found that 9 per cent of 11- to 17-year-old girls have used a sunbed.
Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK's director of health information, said: "It is extremely worrying to see that so many young girls are using sunbeds. Young skin is delicate and so easily damaged by the sun.
"Damage from UV builds up over time. Every time young people use a sunbed they are harming their skin and increasing their risk of skin cancer."
• For more information on the charity's SunSmart campaign, visit
www.sunsmart.org.uk