Dose‐response relationship for the connection between UV radiation and skin cancer. Statement of the Radiation Protection Commission

The various skin cancer entities (squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma) are among the most common types of cancer worldwide and in Germany, and ultraviolet (UV) radiation has already been proven to be the main risk factor for the development of skin cancer. The Radiation Protection Commission (SSK) has also been tracking the increase in the incidence of various skin cancer entities in Germany for many years and most recently reviewed the state of knowledge about the connection between skin cancer and UV radiation in a recommendation "Protecting people from the dangers of solar UV radiation and UV radiation in solariums" revised in 2016. A number of recommendations were also made to help minimize the risk of UV-induced skin cancer. However, there is still no reliable data to describe a dose-response relationship between the UV dose and the incidence of the different skin cancer entities. This makes targeted risk communication and the identification of appropriate preventative measures with regard to the development of skin cancer difficult, as dose-response relationships allow an extrapolation to the estimated number of expected cancer cases in the population in connection with a specific exposure. The SSK has therefore now been commissioned to compile the current state of knowledge about dose-response relationships between UV exposure and the development of skin cancer and to explain what measures should be taken, particularly in research, in order to improve the current state of knowledge. This statement is intended to supplement and clarify the SSK recommendation from 2016. As was already shown in the SSK recommendation from 2016, with more precise knowledge of the dose-response relationships between UV radiation and skin cancer, trends for future skin cancer incidences could be derived. The SSK has reviewed the existing literature on dose-response relationships between UV exposure and the development of skin cancer and comes to the conclusion that the initial situation for assessing dose-response relationships in the area of skin cancer research is inadequate. The SSK therefore comments on how the database for creating and assessing the dose-response relationship for the connection between UV radiation and skin cancer can be improved.