Research and Training Grants in Skin Cancer
The American Cancer Society (ACS) funds scientists and medical professionals who research cancer or train at medical schools, universities, research institutes, and hospitals throughout the United States. We use a rigorous and independent peer review process to select the most innovative research projects to fund. Currently, we have:
68
Grants
Total Skin Cancer Grants in Effect as of March 1, 2021
$25
Million
Total Skin Cancer Grant Funding in Effect as of March 1, 2021
Spotlight on Skin Cancer Grantees
Here are a few of the skin cancer investigators currently receiving research grants from the American Cancer Society. They are looking for new ways to save lives with new and better options to prevent, treat, and manage skin cancer.
Reprogramming Exhausted Melanoma "Killer" Cells in Mice
Uncovering a Connection Between Melanoma-Brain Metastasis and Alzheimer's Disease
Will Telling Someone They Have a High Risk of Skin Cancer Lead Them to Better Sun Protection?
Preventing Skin Cancer from Hijacking the Body’s Sugar
From Our Researchers
The American Cancer Society employs a staff of full-time researchers who relentlessly pursue the answers that help us understand how to prevent, detect, and treat cancer, including skin cancer.
The Facts About Skin Cancer
The American Cancer Society (ACS) publishes Cancer Facts & Figures each year. This report gives detailed analyses of how many people in the US develop and die from cancer. It includes the latest information on risk factors, early detection, treatment, and current research for the most common types of cancer. Here are some of the key skin cancer facts for 2021:
Basal Cell and Squamous Cancers
- Basal cell and squamous cell cancers are the most commonly diagnosed skin cancers in the US. They’re also called nonmelanoma skin cancer. The most recent study estimated that in 2012 over 5 million cases of these cancers were diagnosed in more than 3 million people. It’s not unusual for a person to have more than 1 of these cancers on their skin at the same time.
- Almost all cases of basal and squamous cell cancers skin cancer can be cured, especially if they are found and treated early.
- Melanoma accounts for only about 1% of skin cancers but causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths.
- About 106,110 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with melanoma in 2021. About 7,180 are expected to die from it.
- While anyone can get melanoma, it’s most often diagnosed in non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics and Blacks get melanoma, but at much lower rates.
- Before age 50, more women are diagnosed with melanoma than men. After 50, the rates rise increasingly in men..
Preventing and Treating Melanoma
- A recent study by ACS researchers showed that most cases of and deaths from melanoma are linked with ultraviolet (UV) radiation and potentially preventable. Protecting the skin from long periods in the sun and avoiding indoor tanning can reduce the risk of this potentially deadly form of skin cancer.
- The risk of melanoma is about 60% higher for people who begin using indoor tanning before the age of 35.
- The 5-year relative survival rate for all stages combined of melanoma of the skin is 93%. When melanoma is found before it has spread, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. Currently, 83% of diagnoses are at an early stage.
- Melanoma skin cancer had the steepest declines in cancer death rate for all ages from 2013 to 2017 due to advances in treatment, including the approval of the immunotherapy drug Yervoy (ipilimumab) and the targeted therapy drug Zelboraf (vemurafenib).
Additional statistics about melanoma skin cancer are available at the Cancer Statistics website.
Studying Skin Cancer Causes and Prevention
The American Cancer Society’s internal research team is also:
- Analyzing data about the link between lifestyle and skin cancer on an ongoing basis through the Cancer Prevention Study II (CPS-II). It began in 1982 and tracks about 1.2 million American men and women from all 50 states.
- Conducting Cancer Prevention Study 3, CPS-3, to better understand ways to prevent cancer, including skin cancer. It started in 2013 and includes over 304,000 American men and women from all over the US and Puerto Rico.