Overview

• In 2023, Germany recorded 116,900 hospital treatments for skin cancer, an 88% increase since 2003, with non-melanoma cases more than doubling.
• Deaths from skin cancer rose by 61% over the same period, reaching 4,500 in 2023, with men accounting for 56% of treatments.
• UV radiation, including weak rays that do not cause sunburn, remains the leading risk factor, with many cases linked to childhood exposure in the 1970s and 1980s.
• Since 2008, routine skin cancer screenings for individuals aged 35 and older have improved early detection rates but also highlighted the rising disease burden.
• While older adults are most affected, individuals aged 30–34 face the highest relative mortality risk from skin cancer.