Solar radiation: A possible etiological factor in malignant melanoma in israel.A retrospective study (1960–1972)

Abstract

Both the incidence and mortality from malignant melanoma are rising rapidly in all countries in which they have been studied. Solar radiation has been incriminated as a possible cause for this trend and as a possible etiological factor in malignant melanoma. Israel is a subtropical country developed as a result of waves of immigration mainly in the last century from Europe, Asia, and Africa. To evaluate the role of solar radiation on the pathogenesis of malignant melanoma, 966 cases of malignant melanoma, diagnosed in the last 10 years, were evaluated. The incidence of malignant melanoma was found to be higher (34/million) among European‐born Jews than among Jews who came from Africa (2.7/million) or Asia (4.4/million). Among European‐born Jews of the same age and ethnic background, there was a definite higher incidence of the disease in those who stayed in Israel 20–30 years prior to diagnosis (58/million) as compared to those who stayed in Israel only two to five years prior to diagnosis (17/million). A higher incidence of malignant melanoma was found among agricultural workers in the Kibbutz settlements (54/million) than in the city (17/million) and among the residents of the coastal region (35/million) than in the mountains (20/million). The disease tends to manifest itself on the lower extremity in females (50%) and the trunk in males (30%). The preponderance of the disease to the lower extremity in females is higher in the 50–79 year age group (55%) than in the 0–19 year age group (41%), and is higher in females who stayed 20–30 years in Israel (61%) as compared to females of the same age and ethnic group who stayed in Israel only two to five years prior to diagnosis (49%).

Country of origin, age at migration and risk of cutaneous melanoma: A migrant cohort study of 1,100,000 Israeli men

“…20 As expected, we found a strikingly different incidence of melanoma by origin, with low rates among the North African and Asian origin group and highest rates among those of European origin, similar to previous studies in the Israeli population. [11][12][13][14][15] In our cohort, we were able to explore for the first time the extent to which these differences were confounded or mediated by other risk factors such as birth cohort, height/BSA and socio-demographic characteristics. The strong association of origin with CM risk was only moderately attenuated after adjustment for these covariates.…”

“…Striking differences in risk of CM by origin have been noted previously in Israel. [11][12][13][14][15] This unique setting in Israel and our extensive dataset allowed us to conduct a large-scale migrant cohort study to identify high risk populations and critical periods of sun exposure during childhood, which would aid in directing public health and research efforts. Our objective was to determine the associations of origin and age at immigration with the risk of CM and examine the extent to which these associations are explained by other risk factors such as birth cohort and socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics.…”

Cancer in Jewish migrants to Israel

“…Previous studies of migrants to Israel, for shorter periods, have suggested similar results (Anaise et al, 1978;Katz et al, 1982). Similar findings have been noted for European migrants to Australia, who have lower incidence rates than the Australia-born population, but an increasing risk with longer duration of residence (Dobson and Leeder, 1982).…”

Malignant melanoma: social status and outdoor work

“…Malignant melanoma incidence and mortality in whites are related to latitude of residence (Lancaster, 1956;Elwood et al, 1974;Magnus, 1976), duration of residence in a sunny place (Movshovitz & Modan, 1973;Anaise et al, 1978) and ability to tan. The tumours select exposed anatomical sites, with particular reference to the different clothing and hair styles of men and women (Elwood & Lee, 1975;Committee, 1976).…”