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. 1979 Aug;40(2):185–193. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1979.165

Racial differences in melanoma incidence.

I K Crombie
PMCID: PMC2010011  PMID: 475965

Abstract

The incidences of malignant melanoma recorded by 59 population-based cancer registries were investigated to determine the effects of racial and skin-colour differences. White populations exhibited a wide range of melanoma incidences and females commonly, though not invariably, had a higher incidence than males. Non-white populations experienced in general a much lower incidence of melanoma although there was some overlap of white and non-white rates. No predominant sex difference emerged among non-whites. Populations of African descent were found to have a higher incidence than those of Asiatic origin, but it was concluded that this was due largely to the high frequency of tumours among Africans on the sole of the foot. A clear negative correlation between degree of skin pigmentation and melanoma incidence emerged for the exposed body sites. These data provide strong support for the hypotheses that UV radiation is a major cause of malignant melanoma and that melanin pigmentation protects against it. Further research is required to elucidate the aetiology of melanoma of the sole of the foot.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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