Melanoma and skin cancer (FOI)

Request

Skin Cancer / Melanoma

A 

I've found the following statements below on Cancer Research UK regarding melanoma / skin cancer in the UK. Please could you confirm what the equivalent Jersey statistics are, with figures and breakdowns from 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (and if any figures are available for 2021?

Please confirm and explain Jersey status:

• there are around 16,200 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year, that's 44 every day (2015-2017). - how many for Jersey

• melanoma skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, accounting for four percent of all new cancer cases (2017). - Is Jersey the same as the UK

• in females in the UK, melanoma skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer, with around 8,000 new cases in 2017. - Is Jersey the same as the UK

• in males in the UK, melanoma skin cancer is the fifth most common cancer, with around 8,200 new cases in 2017.- Is Jersey the same as the UK

• incidence rates for melanoma skin cancer in the UK are highest in people aged 85 to 89 (2015-2017). - Is Jersey the same as the UK

• each year more than a quarter (28%) of all new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK are diagnosed in people aged 75 and over (2015-2017). - Is Jersey the same as the UK

• since the early 1990s, melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have more than doubled (135%) in the UK.  Is this the same as the UK? Rates in females have increased by around two times (101%) and rates in males have almost tripled (182%) (2015-2017). Is Jersey the same as the UK

• over the last decade, melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have increased by almost two-fifths (38%) in the UK. Rates in females have increased by almost a third (30%), and rates in males have increased by almost half (47%) (2015-2017). - Is Jersey the same as the UK

• around one in 10 melanoma skin cancer cases are diagnosed at a late stage in England (2012-2013). Is Jersey the same as the UK

• incidence rates for melanoma skin cancer are projected to rise by 7% in the UK between 2014 and 2035, to 32 cases per 100,000 people by 2035. Is Jersey the same as the UK

B 

Additionally, on a previous Freedom of Information request, you state that there is a 'Skin Cancer Report' to be published. Please can you advise who is publishing this, what date range it will cover, and when it is due to be released.

C 

Furthermore, please can you confirm how many deaths with skin cancer / melanoma have been registered in Jersey in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (and if any figures are available for 2021)?

D

Finally, please can you advise if a law regarding the use of dangerous sun beds and promoting them at a discount price is being considered, and who to contact for further information? Statistically, more people in Jersey have died each year (from my knowledge) from Melanoma, than Covid-19.

E 

Please could you also indicate if there is a project / policy regarding health care and / or mole checking services provided by the Government due to the high death rate.

Response

A

Information in relation to cancer diagnosis in Jersey is analysed by Public Health England through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service on behalf of the Channel Islands. The latest report from Public Health England can be found at the following link:

Channel Islands Cancer Registration Report 2020

Data about diagnosis in 2017 onwards will be included in the next iteration of this report. Providing data from the Jersey health systems, would include data extraction, matching and analysis from the following systems:

• Cancer Outcomes and Services dataset (COSD) from the cancer management MDT system

• pathology (including information about staging and metastasis)

• Patient Administration System (PAS)

• death certificates or notices

• population projections

Compilation of this data, without information from UK data systems related to Jersey domiciled residents would not give a complete picture of diagnosis of Jersey residents, this is why data is supplied through the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service in order to provide a complete data set of cancer diagnoses.

To answer the request, the data would need to be extracted from various sources and manipulated, aside from taking more than the prescribed 12.5 hours to do that work, the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 does not require a Scheduled Public Authority to manipulate data to provide a response. Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has therefore been applied.

B

Jersey data for the next iteration of the Cancer Registration Report is currently being processed and sent to Public Health England for analysis. The next report will cover the period 2017-2019. At the present time it is not possible to provide a date for publication of this next report.

C

Deaths were first registered digitally from 1 January 2018 and therefore the requested statistics can only be extrapolated from that date. Article 16 of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 has been applied to data held prior to 2018, as it would take longer than 12.5 hours to collate.

The number of deaths registered between 1 January 2018 and 23 September 2021 where melanoma is registered as a cause of death are as follows:

The number of deaths registered between 1 January 2018 and 23 September 2021 where carcinoma of the skin or metastases to the skin is registered as a cause of death are as follows:

D

A review of the use of sunbeds amongst under 18’s was conducted through the Jersey School Survey in 2018. The findings showed that at least half of all sunbed use was in private homes with approximately 100 under 18’s reporting use of a sunbed in commercial settings such as gyms, health clubs and tanning salons. Whilst this is a small number, risk in this age group is high therefore legislation to restrict use of sunbeds could be legitimately considered by Ministers in the development of future priorities for Cancer prevention. The Public Health Department would provide the evidenced based advice to Ministers on this matter.

E

Mole checking is provided by GPs and they refer suspicious lesions to the Dermatology Department. Many Jersey GPs have solid knowledge and experience in dermoscopy. The Donna Annand Melanoma Foundation has been organizing educational events for doctors and nurses as well as the mole check clinics for the public for the past few years, although this was temporarily suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients’ self-awareness is crucial for the detection of new or changing moles which should then be reported to a GP.

Article applied

Article 16 - A scheduled public authority may refuse to supply information if cost excessive

(1) A scheduled public authority that has been requested to supply information may refuse to supply the information if it estimates that the cost of doing so would exceed an amount determined in the manner prescribed by Regulations.

Regulation 2 (1) of the Freedom of Information (Costs) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 allows an authority to refuse a request for information where the estimated cost of dealing with the request would exceed the specified amount of the cost limit of £500. This is the estimated cost of one person spending 12.5 working hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information.