Is sun exposure a major cause of melanoma? Yes

doi:10.1136/bmj.a763

From trainee to consultant, BMJ Group offers doctors around the world tailored information, special events, learning resources and recruitment services at every step along their career path.

... by doctors, for doctors, for patients
We are open for entries!

Online learning

BMJ Learning

High-quality CME / CPD for doctors and other healthcare professionals. BMJ Learning features hundreds of accredited, peer-reviewed learning modules in text, video, and audio formats. Find out more

Courses and Qualifications

BMJ Masterclasses

BMJ Masterclasses, led by experts, help clinicians to use the latest evidence and recent guidelines in practice and meet their CPD/CME requirements. Find out more

Exam Preparation

The leading provider of online exam preparation, helping over 167,000 healthcare professionals to pass their exams. Find out more

onExamination

Search all BMJ comment articles:

From

Limit by

Our online table of contents is updated at least twice each day. Read all articles published in the last 7 days.
Keep up to date with cardiology: Access the latest cardiovascular medicine resources from across BMJ Group.
The BMJ iPad app brings you the best of print and online, including live links to the latest news, blogs, video, and podcasts. Get the BMJ iPad app.
OPEN ACCESS: All research articles are freely available online, with no word limit. Find out more about the BMJ's open access policy. Submit your paper.
Countdown to London 2012: BMJ Group's Olympics portal highlights latest Olympics and sports medicine-themed research, comment and learning

Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

Scott W Menzies, associate professor

¹University of Sydney, Sydney Melanoma Diagnostic Centre, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, 2050 NSW, Australia

scott.menzies{at}email.cs.nsw.gov.au

Every summer we are reminded about the dangers of the sun. Scott Menzies argues that the risks of malignant melanoma are real, but Sam Shuster (doi: 10.1136/bmj.a764) is unconvinced

Although various phenotypic characteristics enhance or reduce the risk of developing melanoma, sun exposure is the main cause of the disease. This statement is supported by multiple observations.

Site and sensitivity

Firstly, anatomical site of low and high sun exposure predicts patterns of melanoma. In general, the relative density of melanoma is highest on body sites receiving more sun exposure in both sexes and lowest on sites receiving little (scalp in women and buttocks in both sexes).1 2 Furthermore, the difference in the patterns of sun exposure between the sexes is consistent with differences in the most common position of melanoma (trunk in men, lower extremities in woman).3

The incidence of melanoma is also much higher in people of races who tend to burn rather than tan.1 The age standardised incidence of melanoma in non-Hispanic white people (populations of mainly European origin) in New Mexico is an order of magnitude greater than that in Hispanic whites, with similar results …