Our series Cancer Prevention - Cancer Control continues to address the causes and prevention of cancer. In this volume, Hill, Elwood, and English bring together a rich resource summarizing the state of science underpinning the primary prevention of skin cancer. While skin cancer causes an increasing burden, particularly in populations of European origin, our understanding of the role of sun exposure together with the genetic components of skin cancer continues to grow. Given the emphasis on evidence-based medicine and public health prevention efforts, it is noteworthy that, although we can...

Cancer control is the term applied to the development of integrated population-based approaches to reduce the incidence and mortality from cancer and to minimize its impact on affected individuals and on the community. It covers a spectrum of prevention, early diagnosis, optimal treatment, and supportive and palliative care. It emphasizes the application of new knowledge gained through research to achieve current best practice. Cancer control has become a political priority in many countries in recent years, with the evolution of both national and regional cancer control strategic plans. The...

Significant progress has been made in recent years in understanding the origins of cutaneous maligant melanoma. Knowledge of the relationship between solar radiation and melanoma has changed and it now appears that both the character and timing of exposure may be more important than total cumulative dose in accounting for risk. The melanoma-sunlight model may prove an instructive heuristic exercise for environmental epidemiology, as we currently tend to restrict ourselves to a search for uniform total dose--response relationships between cancers and suspected environmental carcinogens.
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