Insufficient direct exposure to sunshine may be an important risk factor for cancer in Western Europe and North America.

When researchers compared the cancer mortality rates in 506 regions around the United States, they found that, despite only minor variations in diet, people living in New England experienced twice as many cancers of the reproductive and digestive systems as in southwestern states. Closer examination found a close inverse correlation between the cancer rates and the levels of ultraviolet B light to which the populations were exposed, those in the sunny southwest, of course, receiving far more.

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According to the researchers, the number of cancer deaths annually in the US from inadequate exposure (estimated at 30,000 from 85,000 additional cases of cancer) dwarves the additional deaths (estimated at 3,000) which would occur if the whole of the US was blessed with the south western climate. They were worried that the sun debate had been overly dominated by dermatologists, whereas the cancers with the strongest correlations were breast, colon, ovarian, bladder, uterus, oesophagal, rectal and stomach. The study’s author, Dr William Grant, commented that northern parts of the US may be dark enough in winter to actually close down the human body’s synthesis of vitamin D3 altogether.

• The researchers found this inverse correlation for thirteen malignancies. The strongest was with breast, colon and ovarian cancer
• Although the study focused on white Americans, the same geographical trend affects black Americans, whose overall cancer rates are significantly higher. Darker skinned people require more sunlight to synthesize vitamin D

Ed.- (i) Other cancers apparently affected by sunlight include tumours of the bladder, uterus, oesophagus, rectum, and stomach.

(ii) An earlier study covering 35 European regions attributed 25% of breast cancer cases to insufficient ultraviolet B light.

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