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© 1974 Oxford University Press

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Relationship of Melanoma and other Skin Cancer Mortality to Latitude and Ultraviolet Radiation in the United States and Canada

J. M. ELWOOD1,1, J. A. H. LEE2,1, S. D. WALTER3, T. MO4 and A. E. S. GREEN5

1 Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Royal Ottawa Hospital 1145 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Z 7K4, Canada
2 Professor of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Visiting Professor, University of Ottawa Canada
4 Interdisciplinary Centre for Aeronomy and other Atmospheric Sciences, University of Florida U.S.A.
3 Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Royal Ottawa Hospital 1145 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1Z 7K4, Canada
5 Interdisciplinary Centre for Aeronomy and other Atmospheric Sciences, University of Florida U.S.A.

1 Present address: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston 02115, U.S.A. Reprint requests should be addressed to Dr. Elwood.

Age-standardized mortality rates from malignant melanoma and from other skin tumours, for each Canadian province and United States state, over the period 1950–67 were examined. Both rates show a strong negative relationship with the geographical latitude of the largest city in the province or state. The rates of change of mortality rate with latitude in the two disease categories are similar in each sex, being greater in males than in females. Longitude, altitude, and mean income are not related to the skin cancer mortality rates. Estimates of the annual ultraviolet radiation in the erythema-producing wavelengths have been made for each state or province. These show a strong negative association with latitude, and a similar degree of correlation with skin cancer mortality rates as does latitude. From this and previous work we suggest that ultraviolet radiation is involved in the aetiology of melanoma as well as of other skin cancers, and therefore that the history of exposure to sunlight in melanoma patients should be studied further.

Received 16 July 1974


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