Abstract

The skin cancer disease spreads every day in the world. According to statistics of World Health Organization about 3 million people get one kind of malign skin cancer. Even 160 000 people get some malignant melanoma and about 40 000 people die because of the same disease. The skin tumors are the most frequent tumor. The prevalence increases every year. The main reason for getting skin cancer is UV radiation, in most cases from the sun, and also from using some sources of UV radiation such as the sun–lamps, solarium use, use of some creams or lotion for skin. The skin absorbs UV radiation and after certain time the damage cannot be undone which leads to malignancy. The persons who had sun–bums in their childhood, persons who are often exposed to the sun, person who have fair skin, persons who have bright eyes or hair and persons in whose family tradition somebody had the moles or some other malign tumor are more susceptible to skin cancer. The Public Health Organization of Herzegovina–Neretva Canton has managed the Register of skin cancer since 1999. In the recent 10 years in Herzegovina–Neretva Canton there were 307 persons who had skin cancer and this cancer is the second most occurring in the Canton. In 2008, 46 persons (women 28, men 18) were newly diagnosed with skin cancer and 4 persons died.

Key words: skin cancer, UV radiation, Hercegovina-Neretva Canton, BiH