A clinical study of skin cancer: Genetic and environmental interactions

A survey of skin cancer patients attending the Queensland Radium Institute at the Royal Brisbane Hospital was carried out and the characteristics of the patients were compared with a control group of skin outpatients. The skin cancer patients had higher percentages of patients of Northern European ancestry and indoor occupations than the controls, although the skin reactions to the sun did not differ, which is at variance with other surveys. The diagnosis of cellular type, if made on clinical grounds only, was shown to have an 80% chance of accuracy. The ratio of basal cell carcinomas to squamous cell carcinomas was 4·2 : 1 which is in line with the findings of others in this field