Nonmelanoma skin cancer

Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in the United States, accounting for 33% to 50% of all the newly diagnosed cancers each year [1 -3]. Close to a million new cases are diagnosed in the United States and I million in the world every year [1,4]. The incidence of NMSC is thought to be increasing [5]. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) account for the vast majority of NMSC (> 95%). The mortality associated with these cancers is low. It is for this reason they attract relatively little attention from the medical and lay communities; however, they cause considerable functional and cosmetic deformity. The cost of treatment is significant.