Skin cancer kills roughly 60,000 people worldwide each year from melanoma alone, with thousands more dying from other skin cancer types. In the United States, melanoma accounts for the vast majority of skin cancer deaths, while the more common basal and squamous cell cancers are far less likely to be fatal.
Global Deaths From Melanoma
In 2022, nearly 60,000 people died from melanoma globally, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. That same year, about 330,000 new melanoma cases were diagnosed worldwide. Melanoma makes up a small fraction of all skin cancers, but it’s responsible for the overwhelming majority of skin cancer deaths because it spreads aggressively to other organs when not caught early.
The five-year survival rate for melanoma that has spread to distant parts of the body, such as the lungs, liver, or distant lymph nodes, is 35%. By contrast, melanoma caught before it spreads beyond the original site has a much higher survival rate. That gap is why stage at diagnosis matters so much for this cancer.
Deaths From Basal and Squamous Cell Cancers
Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are by far the most common skin cancers, but they rarely kill. In the U.S., estimates of annual deaths from these two types combined range from about 2,000 to 8,000 people per year, with squamous cell carcinoma responsible for most of those deaths.
The exact numbers are uncertain because, unlike nearly every other cancer, basal and squamous cell skin cancers are not reported to cancer registries in the United States. They grow slowly and are typically removed with minor procedures before they become dangerous. Deaths tend to occur when tumors are neglected for long periods, grow in hard-to-treat locations like the head or neck, or develop in people with weakened immune systems.
Who Dies From Skin Cancer
Men die from melanoma at more than twice the rate of women. The age-adjusted melanoma death rate in the U.S. is 2.9 per 100,000 for men compared to 1.3 per 100,000 for women. Several factors contribute to this gap. Men are less likely to use sunscreen consistently, less likely to notice changes in moles on their own, and tend to be diagnosed at a later stage. Melanoma in men also more commonly appears on the back and trunk, areas that are harder to self-examine.
Why Stage at Diagnosis Changes Everything
The single biggest factor in whether melanoma is fatal is how far it has progressed when a doctor first finds it. Melanoma confined to the skin is highly treatable. Once it reaches distant organs, the five-year survival rate drops to 35%, based on data from people diagnosed between 2015 and 2021. Even that number has improved substantially over the past decade thanks to newer treatment approaches, but catching melanoma early remains far more effective than treating it late.
This is what makes skin cancer unusual among major cancers: most of it is visible on the surface of the body. A changing mole, a new dark spot, or a sore that won’t heal can be seen with the naked eye long before the cancer has a chance to spread. Regular skin checks, both self-exams and periodic visits to a dermatologist, are the most straightforward way to catch it at a survivable stage.
Putting the Numbers in Context
Adding melanoma deaths (nearly 60,000 globally) to deaths from basal and squamous cell cancers gives a total well above 60,000 skin cancer deaths per year worldwide. In the U.S. alone, melanoma kills roughly 8,000 people annually, with non-melanoma skin cancers adding several thousand more. Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world, but its death toll is modest compared to lung, liver, or colorectal cancers. The reason is that most skin cancers are the slow-growing basal and squamous types that are caught and treated before they become life-threatening.
The deaths that do occur are concentrated heavily in melanoma, in men, and in cases diagnosed after the cancer has already spread. Those patterns point to the same conclusion: the people most at risk of dying from skin cancer are often those whose cancers went unnoticed or unchecked the longest.