Health officials said the rate of cases of malignant melanoma increased by 57% among men and by 51% among women to a total of 1,085 cases in 2007.

One of the main risks of developing skin cancer is exposure to natural and artificial sunlight, especially at a young age.

The annual statistics on cancer in Scotland showed that about 13,100 males and 14,300 females were diagnosed with cancer in 2007, broadly similar to the previous year but showing a slight increase among women.

Lung cancer was the most common but the rate of cases among men continues to decline, down 20% in a decade.

But the rate of lung cancer cases with women increased by 10% over the same period, possibly related to historic trends in the prevalence of smoking.

The rate of breast cancer has also increased over 10 years by 8% among women and prostate cancer rates among men increased by about 19%.

Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon said: "We're committed to ensuring that everyone affected by cancer gets prompt diagnosis and treatment to maximise chances of a positive outcome.

"That's why we launched Better Cancer Care last year and we now have the Scottish Cancer Taskforce to ensure that progress is being made against our commitments.

"It is concerning that we are seeing lung cancer rates in women continuing to rise, reflecting historic smoking trends.

"But we're doing all we can to reduce smoking rates, including banning smoking in public places, our smoking prevention action plan and investing £11 million each year in smoking cessation services."

More than 15,200 people died of cancer in Scotland in 2008. Lung cancer accounted for about 27% of the deaths.

Overall, mortality rates have decreased by 12% in males and 5% in females over the past decade.

Five-year survival rates for both sexes have increased, according to a comparison of data between 1980-84 and 2000-04. Among men, survival rates increased from 26% to 42%, and among women, from 38% to 51%.