Skin cancer specialists say the number of cases being referred to them has gone up by 20 per cent in the past year.
Doctors at Leicester Royal Infirmary said they were now seeing 40 new patients suspected of having malignant melanoma a week.
Although not all will be diagnosed with the disease, it is estimated that at least 200 over a year will be, with about half of those in the 15 to 35 age group.
In many cases the melanoma can be cut out, but each month doctors and nurses are having to tell at least two people aged 15-35 that they have an advanced form of the disease and will need to have treatments such as chemotherapy.
The figures come as Cancer Research UK launches its annual SunSmart campaign to warn of the dangers of the skin cancer.
Dr Graham Johnston, head of dermatology at Leicester's hospitals, said he expected the number of people diagnosed with both malignant melanoma and other forms of skin cancer to carry on rising all the time that young people ignored health warnings about getting sunburnt or using sun beds.
He said: "The numbers have been going up since the late 1970s when people started going on cheap package holidays.
"It is almost a forgotten cancer in older people – they just didn't know the dangers of getting sun burnt and are often diagnosed with the condition much later."
Dr Johnston is hoping that lessons from Australia, the only country where the number of malignant melanoma cases is falling, will soon be learnt in this country.
He said: "It must reach a tipping point when the messages start getting through – it won't be long before everyone knows someone who has been affected by skin cancer.
"Mothers are being better with children and making sure they use sun screen but it is the teenagers who are ignoring the advice – in the same way as they do with smoking – and are still getting sunburnt at a very high rate."
If caught early, when they are still thin, melanomas can be cut out. However, if left, they can grow deeper into the skin where they could reach the lymph glands, affecting the immune system.
Dr Mike McHugh, a consultant in public health for the NHS in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, said: "This is a worrying trend in this age group as skin cancer is preventable if a sensible approach is taken to sun exposure and the use of sun beds is avoided.
"Melanoma, when caught in time, is treatable, which is why it is so important to take care in the sun and to get any changes to moles checked by your GP."
Sara Hiom, director of health information at Cancer Research UK, said: "Some sunshine is good for us but going red and burning is dangerous.
"Sunburn means that UV rays have penetrated the skin cells causing damage which builds up over time and increases the risk of cancer."
For more information go to:
www.sunsmart.org.uk.
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