Prostate cancer risk and exposure to ultraviolet radiation: further support for the protective effect of sunlight

Recent studies have suggested that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation may be protective to some internal cancers including that in the prostate. We describe a confirmatory study in 212 prostatic adenocarcinoma and 135 benign prostatic hypertrophy patients designed to determine whether previous findings showing a protective effect for UV exposure could be reproduced. We used a validated questionnaire to obtain data on aspects of lifetime exposure to UV. The data confirmed that higher levels of cumulative exposure, adult sunbathing, childhood sunburning and regular holidays in hot climates were each independently and significantly associated with a reduced risk of this cancer.