UVA and cutaneous melanoma incidences: spatial patterns and communities at risk

The authors examined the associations of melanoma of the skin (i.e., cutaneous melanoma) incidence rates with specific ultraviolet (UV) exposure metrics across the U.S. No correlation between the age-adjusted incidence rates of cutaneous melanoma and annual average, maximum, and cumulative UV levels was observed. The authors then estimated two indicators, the UV-weighted melanoma rate and the melanoma-weighted UV level. A linear relationship was computed for the UV-weighted melanoma incidence rate while an exponential decay simulated the melanoma-weighted UV level. The slope of the UV-weighted melanoma linear model was indicative of the mean cutaneous melanoma incidence rates attributed to solar UV exposures in the U.S. An excess (i.e., above the average) of cutaneous melanoma cases was observed in the northeast U.S. A deficit of cutaneous melanoma cases for the estimated UV levels was observed in Texas, Nevada, and Arizona and to a lesser extent in California and New Mexico.