Skin Cancer in a Subtropical Australian Population: Incidence and Lack of Association with Occupation

Abstract

Because it is not possible to monitor skin cancer accurately using routine methods, special surveys have been undertaken in Nambour, a typical subtropical community in Queensland, Australia. Estimates of incidence reported here are based on skin cancers medically treated between 1985 and 1992 and new cases diagnosed by dermatologists in two examination clinics in 1986 and 1992. Among men and women aged 18-69 years in 1986, age-adjusted incidence rates of basal cell carcinoma were 2,074 and 1,579 per 100,000 per year, respectively-the highest incidence rates of a specific cancer ever reported. Squamous cell carcinoma occurred at half the rate of basal cell carcinoma among men and at about one third the rate among women. Although as expected, fair skin, a history of repeated sunburns, and nonmalignant solar skin damage diagnosed by dermatologists were strongly associated with both types of skin cancer, outdoor occupation was not. Significant self-selection was observed among outdoor workers, whereby people with fair or medium complexions and a tendency to sunburn were systematically underrepresented among those in long-term outdoor occupations although they accounted for more than 80 percent of the community study sample. The mitigating effect of this selection bias may partly explain the paradox of the lack of quantitative evidence of a causal link between sun exposure and skin cancer in humans.

Carcinoma basocelular - Análise de 300 casos observados em Uberlândia - MG

“…1,3-6,11,14-17,19,21,22 The age group mostly affected by BCC was 70-79 years, similar to the findings of Bastiaens et al 3 The increasing incidence of BCC in young individuals has been emphasized; 8,11 however, the mean age is still high, probably because of the cumulative action of ultraviolet light throughout life and of reduction of the ozone layer. 4,7,8 In this study, BCC affected mostly women.…”

“…4,7,8 In this study, BCC affected mostly women. This finding could be at least partially explained by the fact that the female population represents the target audience for several educational campaigns against cancer, making women more aware and careful about their own bodies.…”

“…1 BCC usually affects the face. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] of male patients, mainly fair-skinned and aged over 40 years, with history of chronic sun exposure. In addition to its increased incidence, 2,9-11 BCC has changed over the last years affecting sun-protected sites 12 and greater likelihood to affect women.…”

Outdoor Workers and Sun Protection: Knowledge and Behaviour

“…Some studies were found that addressed outdoor workers in Australia (Dobbinson and Knight, 2001;Parisi et al, 1999;Kimlin et al, 1998;Airey et al, 1997;Green et al, 1996;Wong et al, 1996;Girgis et al, 1994;Borland et al, 1991). These studies were carried out mostly in Queensland, with two in Victoria and another in NSW.…”

“…Outdoor workers who participated included farmers, Telecom lines staff, and tradespersons. The focus of five of these studies was exposure to UVR (Parisi et al, 1999;Kimlin et al, 1998;Airey et al, 1997;Green et al 1996;Wong et al, 1996) with the remaining studies focusing on the effects of an interventions on outdoor workers' sun protective behaviour (Girgis et al, 1994;Borland et al, 1991) and organisational change (Dobbinson and Knight, 2001). No study was found that had surveyed outdoor workers in NSW to assess their knowledge and sun protective behaviour associated with their risk of skin cancer.…”