title: Risk factors for basal cell carcinoma of the skin in men: results from the health professionals follow-up study.
abstract: The authors examined the relation of constitutional factors and sun exposure to risk of basal cell carcinoma of the skin (BCC) in a prospective cohort of 44,591 predominantly Caucasian US male health professionals, 40-75 years of age and free of cancer at enrollment in 1986. During 8 years of follow-up, 3,273 cases of self-reported BCC were documented. The following variables were each associated with an elevated risk of BCC: having red hair; green, hazel, or blue eyes; a tendency to sunburn; and north European ancestry. The lifetime number of blistering sunburns was also positively associated with BCC risk (p trend < 0.0001). Compared with men who as teenagers had been outside less than once a week, men who had been outside weekly (relative risk (RR) = 1.30; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.14, 1.47) and daily (RR = 1.42; 95% CI: 1.24, 1.63) had an elevated risk of BCC. Living in a region of residence with high solar radiation as an adult was also associated with an increased risk of BCC (RR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.36, 1.60), whereas living in such a region only in childhood did not increase BCC risk. These results confirm the role of constitutional factors and suggest that adult sun exposure increases BCC risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: van Dam
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Rimm
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Weinstock
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Spiegelman
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Colditz
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Willett
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giovannucci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012907:Smoking; D013472:Sunlight; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People