Portuguese American Journal

Skin cancer on the rise in Portugal

According to the Portuguese Skin Cancer Association, an estimated 10,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year in Portugal, more than 1,000 are malignant, and the majority of the cases are caused by over-exposure to the sun.

Skin cancer cases have been gradually rising in Portugal as well as in various other European countries that have “greater solar exposure,” and particularly among children and young adults.

According to a study release in 2003, the most common cancer among Portuguese men in 2000 is cancer of the colorectum (3,173 new cases), followed by cancers of the prostate (2,973), lung (2,611), stomach (2,206) and urinary bladder (1,360).  In women, breast cancer is the most common cancer (4,358) followed by cancers of the colorectum (2,541), stomach (1,494) and corpus uteri (1,083).

The World Health Organization (WHO) has projected that Portugal will see an increase of 34 percent in diagnosed cancers until 2030, and that more than 32 thousand will died every year in Portugal victims of the disease. Currently 24 thousand Portuguese died of cancer every year. Portugal’s population is estimated at 10,760, 305 (2011).

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