Skin Cancer Screening in Oita, Japan

Abstract

We examined the prevalence of actinic keratosis (AK) and skin cancers in Oita, Japan, in 2000 and 2001. Two different areas, Himeshima and Naoiri, with the same population of about three thousand, were chosen for this study. The major industry in Himeshima is fishing, and that in Naoiri is agriculture. The prevalences of AK and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in Himeshima were 1274 and 536 per 100,000 Japanese in 2000, and 1,238 and 48 in 2001, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those in Naoiri, AK 312 and BCC 29 per 100,000 Japanese in 2000, and AK 121 and BCC 30 in 2001. The differences in the prevalences of AK and skin cancer in these two areas seem to be related to the differences in the major industries, fishing and agriculture, although the people engaged in both occupations have been generally supposed to be equally exposed to strong sunlight. The people with skin type I showed a higher prevalence of AK than those with skin types II or III in Himeshima.