Uveal melanoma: Is solar ultraviolet radiation a risk factor?

Abstract

Age-standardized mortality rates for cancers of the eye among adults in England and Wales are compared with those for cutaneous malignant melanoma. While cutaneous malignant melanoma rates have increased three-fold since 1950-54, rates for cancers of the eye have remained relatively constant over the same period. Collectively, the inconclusive findings of case-control studies for an association between exposure to ultraviolet radiation and uveal melanoma, the lack of supporting dosimetry data, together with the lack of an upward trend in mortality rates for cancers of the eye, suggests that exposure to ultraviolet radiation may not be a major factor in the etiology of uveal melanoma.

Key Words:

• Uveal melanoma
• ultraviolet radiation