Beyond the blind spot: considering the benefits of comprehensive skin cancer surveillance

Catherine M. Olsen; Christopher Donovan; Christine Connors

doi:10.1071/PU24008

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Beyond the blind spot: considering the benefits of comprehensive skin cancer surveillance

Catherine M. Olsen ^A ^B ^* , Christopher Donovan ^C , Christine Connors ^D on behalf of the Radiation Health and Safety Advisory Council of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA)

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Department of Population Health, Cancer Control Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, 300 Herston Road, Herston, Qld, Australia.

^B Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Qld, Australia.

^C Workplace Health and Safety, The Australian Workers’ Union, Granville, NSW, Australia.

^D Office of the Chief Health Officer, Northern Territory Department of Health, Perth, NT, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: Catherine.Olsen@qimrberghofer.edu.au

Public Health Research and Practice 35, PU24008 https://doi.org/10.1071/PU24008

Submitted: 13 September 2025 Accepted: 3 March 2025 Published: 28 May 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Sax Institute. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Australia has the world’s highest skin cancer rates. The keratinocyte cancers (basal cell carcinoma [BCC] and squamous cell carcinoma [SCC]) are the most common and costly, yet unlike melanoma, they are not nationally registered, and the lack of registry data hinders control efforts. The Tasmanian cancer registry collects data on BCC and SCC incidence, revealing concerning trends and high-risk groups. International examples show how registry data inform policy and prevention. Comprehensive registration would enable similar benefits for Australia. We propose a phased approach, starting with high-risk lesions, alongside standardised pathology reporting and the potential use of artificial intelligence, and recommend an evaluation of the cost of this integrated strategy.

Keywords: basal cell carcinoma, BCC, burden, cancer registries, incidence, policy, prevention, SCC, squamous cell carcinoma.

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