For Immediate Release: May 25, 1999
Contact: DMS Communications (603) 650-1492
Print Version
Skin Cancer Rises in New Hampshire
LEBANON, NH Squamous cell skin cancer among women residing in New Hampshire more than tripled over a 15-year period (1979-1994), along with marked increases overall in both basal and squamous cell skin cancers, DMS cancer researchers report.
Margaret R. Karagas, PhD, associate professor of community and family medicine, and colleagues at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center tracked the incidence of squamous and basal cell carcinomas of the skin in New Hampshire residents, based on information from primary physicians and pathologists.
The two common malignancies diagnosed among New Hampshire residents were identified through physician practices and central pathology laboratories in New Hampshire and bordering regions during two periods: June 1979 through May 1980, and July 1993 through June 1994. For each diagnosis period the researchers estimated the age-adjusted incidence of the skin cancers among both men and women and for separate anatomic sites.
Between the two intervals incidence rates of squamous cell carcinoma increased by 350% in women and by 235% in men, while the incidence of basal cell carcinoma increased by more than 80% in both men and women. While the absolute increase was greatest for tumors of the head and neck, the relative change was most pronounced for tumors on the trunk in men and on the lower limb in women.
The anatomic pattern of increase is consistent with an effect of greater sunlight exposure, according to the researchers. Such studies of occurrence are needed to identify possible behavioral and environmental factors and to assess possible changes in diagnostic practices that might account for the rise in incidence of these common malignancies.
The Dartmouth study was published recently in the International Journal of Cancer and funded by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. Coauthors include E. Robert Greenberg, MD, Steven K. Spencer, MD, Therese A. Stukel, PhD, and Leila A. Mott, MS.
CONTACTS: Dr. Karagas: (603) 650-8044
Dr. Greenberg: 650-6300
NCCC Website: www.cancer.dartmouth.edu
