Overview
- Cancer Research UK data show 20,980 new melanoma cases in 2022, the highest annual total on record, and projects roughly 26,500 cases a year by 2040.
- Nearly nine in ten melanomas are linked to excess ultraviolet exposure from the sun and sunbeds, making most cases largely preventable through behaviour change.
- The government has opened a 12-week consultation proposing staff-present rules and mandatory ID checks at sunbed premises to stop under-18s from using tanning beds.
- Local health bodies report wide variation across the country, with Cumbria identified as a regional hotspot at about 32% above the England average and younger women showing higher early-age rates linked to tanning practices.
- Health charities and NHS clinicians urge simple steps to cut risk—seek shade, cover up, use SPF 30+ broad-spectrum sunscreen with strong UVA protection—and stress early checks and rapid referral pathways can catch melanoma when treatment is most successful.