Rates of killer skin cancer up 80%

INCIDENTS of malignant melanoma, the most threatening form of skin cancer, have risen by 80% in 10 years among adults under 50, according to figures from the National Cancer Registry (NCRI).

Overall skin cancer rates have risen by more than a third in the same period, from 1997 to 2007, according to the NCRI.

Health experts urged sun-worshippers to take precautions as almost 8,000 people were diagnosed with skin cancer in 2007.