Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Studying Chronic Exposure of Mice to Ultraviolet B Radiation
Published on: August 19, 2025
Outdoor work and skin cancer incidence: a registry-based study in Bavaria
M Radespiel-Tröger1, M Meyer, A Pfahlberg
1Population-based Cancer Registry Bavaria, Registration office, Erlangen, Germany. Martin.Radespiel-Troeger@ekr.med.uni-erlangen.de
Objective:
To analyse the association between occupational ultraviolet (UV) light exposure and skin cancer (basal cell carcinoma, BCC; squamous cell carcinoma, SCC; cutaneous malignant melanoma, CMM) based on data from the Bavarian population-based cancer registry.
Methods:
The population-based cancer registry of Bavaria (Germany) provided data on incident cases of BCC, SCC, and CMM, respectively, during the period 2001 until 2005. Eleven Bavarian districts with complete skin cancer registration were included in this analysis based on 2,156,336 person years. Cases were assigned to "indoor", "mixed indoor/outdoor", and "outdoor" exposure categories according to their job title. We computed age-specific and age-adjusted incidence rates of BCC (n = 1,641), SCC (n = 499), and CMM (n = 454) by work type, and the relative risk (RR) of skin cancer occurrence for "outdoor" and "mixed indoor/outdoor" workers, respectively, compared to "indoor" workers.
Results:
The risk of BCC was substantially elevated in male (RR, 2.9; 95% CI, 2.2-3.9) and female (RR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.8-4.1) outdoor workers compared to male and female indoor workers, respectively. We also found an elevated risk of similar magnitude for SCC in male (RR, 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4-4.7) and female (RR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.6-8.1) outdoor workers compared to male and female indoor workers, respectively. CMM risk was not significantly associated with outdoor work.
Conclusion:
Our study confirms previous reports on the increased risk of BCC and SCC in outdoor workers compared to indoor workers.
Related Concept Videos
Skin Cancer
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC): BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for about 80% of cases. It typically develops in...
Role of Skin in Vitamin D Synthesis
The solar UV B rays (290-315 nm) are absorbed by the skin, and 7-dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3) photolyzes it to previtamin D3, which undergoes a rapid transformation to vitamin D3(cholecalciferol).
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Nucleotide Excision Repair
Cells are regularly exposed to mutagens—factors in the environment that can damage DNA and generate mutations. UV radiation is one of the most common mutagens and is estimated to introduce a significant number of changes in DNA. These include bends or kinks in the structure, which can block DNA replication or transcription. If these errors are not fixed, the damage can cause mutations, which in turn can result in cancer or disease depending on which sequences are...

