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Cases of the most dangerous form, melanoma, rose by 43 percent to 8 939 during the past decade, figures released by Cancer Research UK showed.
The cancer is caused mainly by heavy exposure to UV radiation in sunlight, and since the mid-1980s rates have doubled in women and tripled in men.
"We're very concerned that cases of malignant melanoma are spiralling," said Sara Hiom, Cancer Research UK's director of health information. "Most cases of this disease could be prevented if people protected themselves in the sun and took care not to burn." p>There has been a rise in similar so-called lifestyle cancers during the same period. This is most probably due to excessive drinking, smoking and eating, the charity said.
The number of newly diagnosed cases of mouth cancer, caused largely by smoking or chewing tobacco and regular drinking, rose 23 percent between 1995 and 2004 to 4 769 cases.
Smoking, obesity major causes
Womb cancer, blamed partly on obesity, rose 21 percent to 6 438 cases, and kidney cancer, caused mainly by smoking and being overweight, rose 14 percent to 7 044.
Lucy Morrish, who compiled the figures for Cancer Research UK, said, "While incidence rates for some cancers have fallen over the past decade, others are rising and many of these cases could be prevented if people avoided excessive sun exposure, smoking and obesity and limited their alcohol intake."
Half of all cancers could be prevented by changes to lifestyle, the charity said.
High-profile publicity campaigns and national screening programmes helped reduce the rates of cervical and lung cancer during the same period.
Cases of cervical cancer dropped 24 percent to 2 726 and lung cancer by 14 percent to 38 313. - (ReutersHealth, August 2007)
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