10 years, 12 recommendations… what happened?

In 2015, the Australian Parliament conducted the Skin Cancer in Australia: Our National Cancer inquiry, outlining twelve recommendations on prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment in their final report. Since then, some progress has been made on some of the recommendations, but work remains to ensure all Australians benefit from advancements in skin cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and care. Many of the 2015 recommendations remain unimplemented or outdated, highlighting the need for renewed focus and strategic action.

This year marks a decade since the Inquiry. It got us thinking – have we made progress in a decade? Where has the Report been used since it was published? How many people (parliamentarians, industry, clinicians, researchers, advocates) are even aware of the Report? What progress has been made on the recommendations by all of us in the skin cancer sector?

This led us to consider an even bigger picture.

From report to reality: building Australia’s Skin Cancer Scorecard for change

MSCAN and the Australasian College of Dermatologists are looking to answer these questions.

Together, we are developing a Skin Cancer Scorecard that will measure the progress made in reducing the burden of melanoma and skin cancer.

When we started looking into it, we realised that looking backwards over the decade since the Government Inquiry wasn’t necessarily the best way to set up a Scorecard for the future. It became clear that we need something that’s more forward looking in its approach.

The Skin Cancer Scorecard is being intentionally set up to be repeatable. We will revisit it every 5 years. We’re developing clear, measurable progress indicators for assessing current and future performance.

We’re on the hook. The Australian Government will be on the hook.

The aim is to keep melanoma and skin cancer firmly on the national agenda.

Importantly, the Skin Cancer Scorecard is looking beyond melanoma to cover all types of skin cancer, including the less common types. To be clear, we don’t think there’s enough focus on melanoma. And if there’s not enough focus on melanoma, then it’s very clear that there isn’t enough focus on the non-melanoma skin cancers and the less common types of melanoma.

We are not looking to duplicate any work that’s been done to date. We will compile and learn from the published evidence to guide what needs to be included in our calls for future action. It’s also a great opportunity to consider what’s working well and celebrate the progress that has been made.

Where are we up to?

The work towards a Skin Cancer Scorecard is underway. We can’t yet pre-empt the indicators or specific items to measure, but we know the indicators will look across the full skin cancer continuum of prevention, early detection, treatment, and support and care.

What will the Skin Cancer Scorecard deliver?

The final product will be:

• The Skin Cancer Scorecard to indicate where progress has been made or is underway
• A Report that provides the evidence and support for each of the scorecard items and indicators.

We want to be bold in our work. We want to elevate the voice of people with lived experience in the scorecard. And we want to collaborate with other organisations, industry, government and the talented researchers and clinicians working in this space. We know that by working together we can reduce the burden of melanoma and skin cancer on all Australians.

We’re working hard to keep melanoma and skin cancer on the national agenda.

The Skin Cancer Scorecard will be launched in late 2025.

Getting back to basics: Why do we need to keep melanoma and skin cancer on the national agenda?

Skin cancer, Australia’s national cancer, remains a major public health issue:

• Two in three Australians will be diagnosed with a type of skin cancer by age 70
• Melanoma is the most common cancer diagnosed in young people (aged 15-39)
• More than 2,200 Australians died from melanoma and keratinocyte cancers in 2021.
• Beyond the enormous human toll, skin cancer costs the health system nearly $2 billion each year.

Acknowledging that skin cancer is a largely preventable disease, there is a significant opportunity to improve health outcomes, reduce costs and protect the wellbeing of Australians.

We look forward to sharing more on the Skin Cancer Scorecard as the project develops.

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