Abstract
Interviews were performed on 83 patients with malignant melanoma, being 74% of all new NHS patients over a 33 month period who were resident in a defined area of Nottingham, and on age and sex matched controls chosen from all outpatients and inpatients of the same hospitals with the same area of residence. Significantly increased risks of melanoma were found in subjects with 3 or more raised moles on the upper arms (relative risk = 17.0), in association with heavy freckling of the face and arms, and with a tendency to sunburn easily and tan poorly, these factors having independent effects. While no significant and consistent association with exposure to fluorescent light was seen, the observed risks were higher in subjects with greater exposure, and higher in association with exposure to undiffused than to diffused light. Cases had a significantly greater number of hours' exposure to undiffused light than did controls. The associations with fluorescent light exposure were stronger when based on interview data than on a subsequent postal questionnaire. Twenty-one cases and 11 controls reported exposure to unusual occupational lighting sources which may have had an ultraviolet component; these included various intense lighting sources and lamps used in printing and dyeline copying.
Highlights
From the pathology records of the two hospitals which supply pathology services to the population of Nottingham we identified 112 NHS patients who were resident within a defined area of urban and suburban Nottingham and who had had a histologically confirmed diagnosis of a first primary cutaneous melanoma between 1st July 1981 and 31st March 1984
Of the pigmentation characteristics associated with melanoma (Table I) the most strongly associated was the number of raised moles on the upper arms
The results on pigmentation, moles, and skin reaction to sun exposure, reported in this study are consistent with those reported in the much larger case control study in Western Canada, which used the same questions, and the large study in Western Australia which used a questionnaire derived from the Canadian one (Elwood et al, 1984; Holman & Armstrong, 1984a)
Summary
From the pathology records of the two hospitals which supply pathology services to the population of Nottingham we identified 112 NHS patients who were resident within a defined area of urban and suburban Nottingham and who had had a histologically confirmed diagnosis of a first primary cutaneous melanoma between 1st July 1981 and 31st March 1984 Of these 1 2 cases, 15 had died, 2 were terminally ill, one could not be located, in 3 instances the patient's general practitioner wished them excluded from the study, and in 8 instances the patient declined to take part; the remaining 83 patients constitute the case series. For the 27 male control subjects, their most recent attendances concerned eye and ear 6, locomotor 6, and others 15
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call