There are several types of cancer that may start in the skin. They can be split into 2 groups depending on the cell they develop from:

• melanoma
• non-melanoma, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Melanoma skin cancers

Melanoma skin cancers include superficial spreading melanoma, nodular melanoma, lentigo maligna melanoma and acral lentiginous melanoma. These types develop from skin cells called melanocytes. We have separate information about melanoma. It is treated differently to non-melanoma skin cancers.

Non-melanoma skin cancers

Non-melanoma skin cancers include basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

BCC is the most common type of skin cancer in the UK. It starts in skin cells called basal cells.

SCC is the second most common type of skin cancer in the UK. It develops from the squamous cell layers of the skin.

There are some other types of cancer that can affect the skin. These are much less common than BCC and SCC. They are treated differently. We have separate information about the following types:

• Kaposi’s sarcoma
• cutaneous lymphoma
• sarcoma.

To learn more about different types of skin cancer - click here