Experts debate extent of sun exposure risk

UK consultant dermatologist Sam Shuster and melanoma specialist Scott Menzies from the University of Sydney have entered a debate regarding the association between sun exposure and skin cancer.

The British Medical Journal documents that according to Mr Shuster, the common skin cancers tend to develop in pale, sun-exposed skin, whereas melanoma is linked to ethnicity rather than skin pigmentation.

He argues that three quarters of melanoma cases occur on relatively unexposed sites of the body, suggesting that ultraviolet light can only minimally cause development of the cancer.

Professor Menzies states that melanoma is more common on body sites receiving greater sun exposure and in people of races who have a tendency to burn.

According to Mr Menzies, there is a clear association between increasing cases of melanoma and increasing environmental ultraviolet light.

While the prevalence of melanoma continues to increase, it remains a rare form of cancer. Cancerbackup states that an estimated 8,100 people in the UK are diagnosed with melanoma each year.