As the summer holidays approach, exposure to the sun could have harmful effects on the health of your skin. According to the European organization fighting cancer, cutaneous melanoma is ranked 6th among the most common cancers.
In France, between 141,200 and 243,500 cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year. But what do we know about the French regions where they are particularly common?
What are the risk factors for skin cancer?
Various factors can increase the risk of skin cancer. We distinguish:
– Exposure to the sun’s rays : 2/3 of skin cancer cases are caused by prolonged contact with the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Artificial tanning devices (tanning beds, sunlamps, etc.) are also a source of UV rays. They produce free radicals that can:damage your DNA. Additionally, UV rays can accelerate skin aging et cause cataracts.
– Melanoma more commonly affects people with dark hair and light skin.
– The presence of more than 50 moles in the same area of the body is also a risk factor for melanoma.
– Each person’s family and medical history can impact the risk of developing skin cancer.
Which French regions are most at risk?
In France, 80,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year. Carcinomas, being the most common skin cancers, generally occur after the age of 50. This is why it is important to protect yourself from the sun’s UV rays by applying sunscreen every two hours.
In France, health authorities have noticed that all northern regions are recording a higher number of cases of skin cancer. In 2022, an awareness campaign called “Alerte Breizh” was launched to inform Bretons that they are particularly at risk of skin cancer.
The authorities revealed that there are 3 times more skin cancers in Brittany than at the national level. A probable explanation for this particularity is that the Bretons are rather light-skinned Celts with light eyes, so they have a slightly higher sensitivity to the sun. And then there is especially the fact that a large part of the population was very chronically exposed to the sun.
Data available on the Public Health France website reveal that melanomas have a significant mortality rate in Brittany (23%) compared to mainland France over the period 2007-2014.
