The epidemiology of skin cancer in queensland: The significance of premalignant conditions

Data are presented for four cities in Quensland that show that there is a tendency for both basal and squamous cell cancer to occur in the absence of hyperkeratosis. The converse also holds. The anatomical distribution of the keratoses does not follow that of one particular form of cancer, but roughly that of both, although basal cell cancers and hyperkeratoses are not likely to be confused clinically. It seems that solar keratosis is not an important premalignant lesion, but rather that it occurs independently. In this, as in the preceding paper on the incidence of skin cancer, it must be stressed that geographical factors are specially important, and that what is true for Queensland is not necessarily true for other regions further from the Equator. This work was carried out during the tenure of a Medical Research Fellowship at the University of Queensland. I would like to acknowledge the advice and help of Dr. A. G. S. Cooper, Director of the Queensland Radium Institute