The emerging epidemic of melanoma and squamous cell skin cancer

Journal Article · Fri Oct 20 04:00:00 EDT 1989 · JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1989.03430150065027· OSTI ID:7189929

Glass, A G ^[1]; Hoover, R N ^[2]

---

1. Kaiser Permanente, Portland, OR (USA)
2. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (USA)

Squamous cell skin cancer, though common, remains largely unreported and unstudied, with little known about its incidence and time trends. The authors have used a unique resource--a continuous population-based registry of cases of squamous cell skin cancer within a single prepaid health plant--to describe basic epidemiologic features of this malignancy and compare it with the more widely studied melanoma. Both malignancies are considerably more common in this population than they expected based on previous reports from the general population. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the incidence of squamous cell skin cancer increased 2.6 times in men and 3.1 times in women, while incidence of melanoma rose 3.5-fold and 4.6-fold in men and women, respectively. Skin cancers of both types involving the head and neck or the extremities increased essentially in parallel over these 27 years. Melanomas of the trunk, however, appeared to increase at a faster rate in both sexes. These observations are consistent with the impression that the rising incidence of both malignancies may be attributable to increased voluntary exposure to the sun over an extended period.

• OSTI ID: 7189929
• Journal Information: JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (USA), Journal Name: JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association; (USA) Vol. 262:15; ISSN 0098-7484; ISSN JAMAA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560151* -- Radiation Effects on Animals-- Man
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
BIOLOGICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
BODY
BODY AREAS
CARCINOGENESIS
DELAYED RADIATION EFFECTS
DISEASE INCIDENCE
DISEASES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EPIDEMIOLOGY
EXTREME ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
HEAD
HUMAN POPULATIONS
MELANOMAS
NECK
NEOPLASMS
ORGANS
PATHOGENESIS
POPULATIONS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATIONS
RISK ASSESSMENT
SEX DEPENDENCE
SKIN
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION