Sunburn and Melanoma

Sample size: 236 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): A. Green, V. Siskind, C. Bain, J. Alexander

Primary Institution: Queensland Institute of Medical Research; Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Queensland

Is there a relationship between multiple sunburns and the risk of developing malignant melanoma?

The study found that multiple sunburns are associated with an increased risk of malignant melanoma.

An association between multiple sunburns and melanoma was evident.
The estimated relative risk associated with 2-5 sunburns was 1.5, and with 6 or more was 2.4.
Significantly more multiple episodes of sunburn were reported by melanoma cases than controls.

Getting sunburned a lot can make you more likely to get skin cancer called melanoma.

The study used a case-control design, interviewing 236 melanoma patients and matched controls about their sunburn experiences and other risk factors.

There is a low risk of selection bias as a high percentage of eligible cases and controls were interviewed.

The study excluded certain melanoma subtypes and relied on self-reported sunburn experiences, which may be subject to recall bias.

Participants were residents of Queensland, Australia, with ages ranging from 14 to 81 years.

p<0.05

95% CLs 1.4 and 3.4

p<0.05

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