Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Skin Cancer, Climate Change, and Opportunities for Dermatologists

  • REVIEW
  • Published:
Current Dermatology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Skin cancer is the most common cancer globally, and the incidence and prevalence of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers has been increasing in recent decades, representing a rising number of disability-adjusted life years. This narrative review explores the interplay between climate change and the development of skin cancer, highlighting potential mechanistic links including increased UV radiation, tumorigenic effects of air pollutants such as phthalates and polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons stemming from anthropogenic practices, and sociobehavioral changes related to increasing ambient temperatures.

Recent Findings

International efforts to mitigate ozone layer depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, and rising temperatures are summarized to explore the current state of global collaboration and success regarding climate protective policies. Timely strategies for dermatologists to engage in climate advocacy are compiled and discussed, including community- and practice-level actions, organizational involvement, and opportunities for improving personal and office sustainability.

Summary

This review highlights the influence of climate change on cutaneous carcinogenesis given the observed annual increases in skin cancer incidence and the well-established link between UV radiation and skin cancer while presenting practical, easily adoptable strategies for dermatologists to reduce their carbon footprints and become climate advocacy leaders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References:

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: •  Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. ••Zhang W, Zeng W, Jiang A, et al. Global, regional and national incidence, mortality and disability-adjusted life-years of skin cancers and trend analysis from 1990 to 2019: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Cancer Med. 2021;10(14):4905–4922. https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.4046. The authors present global trends in both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer mortality and disease burden, using metrics including disability-adjusted life years, to contextualize populations at highest risk of morbidity and mortality from cutaneous malignancy. Salient findings included that global skin cancer burden was highest in older adults, that men had a higher age standardized rate of skin cancer burden than women, and that primary and secondary prevention efforts could be most useful when focused on regions with populations that have high proportions of adults ages 55 and older.

  2. Aggarwal P, Knabel P, Fleischer ABJ. United States burden of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer from 1990 to 2019. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021;85(2):388–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2021.03.109.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Balato N, Ayala F, Megna M, Balato A, Patruno C. Climate change and skin. G Ital di dermatologia e Venereol organo Uff Soc Ital di dermatologia e Sifilogr. 2013;148(1):135–46.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kaffenberger BH, Shetlar D, Norton SA, Rosenbach M. The effect of climate change on skin disease in North America. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2017;76(1):140–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2016.08.014.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Schachtel A, Boos MD. Pediatric dermatology and climate change: an argument for the pediatric subspecialist as public health advocate. Pediatr Dermatol. 2019;36(4):564–6. https://doi.org/10.1111/pde.13819.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. World Health Organization. Climate change is ‘single biggest health threat’ to humanity. Accessed April 1, 2022. www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-10-11/who-report-climate-change-is-single-biggest-health-threat-to-humanity

  7. Rundle CW, Militello M, Barber C, Presley CL, Rietcheck HR, Dellavalle RP. Epidemiologic burden of skin cancer in the US and worldwide. Curr Dermatol Rep. 2020;9(4):309–22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13671-020-00311-4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Pérez LL, Bashline B. Skin cancer: prevention FP Essent. 2019;481:28–31.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Collins L, Quinn A, Stasko T. Skin cancer and immunosuppression. Dermatol Clin. 2019;37(1):83–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.det.2018.07.009.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Narayanan DL, Saladi RN, Fox JL. Ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer. Int J Dermatol. 2010;49(9):978–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-4632.2010.04474.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Leiter U, Eigentler T, Garbe C. Epidemiology of skin cancer. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2014;810:120–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0437-2_7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Parker ER. The influence of climate change on skin cancer incidence - a review of the evidence. Int J women’s dermatology. 2021;7(1):17–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.07.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Dobbinson S, Wakefield M, Hill D, et al. Prevalence and determinants of Australian adolescents’ and adults’ weekend sun protection and sunburn, summer 2003–2004. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2008;59(4):602–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2008.06.011.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. López FF. Climate change and the thinning of the ozone layer: implications for dermatology. Actas Dermosifiliogr. 2011;102(5):311–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ad.2010.12.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Diffey B. Climate change, ozone depletion and the impact on ultraviolet exposure of human skin. Phys Med Biol. 2004;49(1):R1-11. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-9155/49/1/r01.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. van der Leun JC, de Gruijl FR. Climate change and skin cancer. Photochem Photobiol Sci Off J Eur Photochem Assoc Eur Soc Photobiol. 2002;1(5):324–6. https://doi.org/10.1039/b201025a.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Piacentini RD, Della Ceca LS, Ipiña A. Climate change and its relationship with non-melanoma skin cancers. Photochem Photobiol Sci Off J Eur Photochem Assoc Eur Soc Photobiol. 2018;17(12):1913–7. https://doi.org/10.1039/c7pp00405b.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Silva GS, Rosenbach M. Climate change and dermatology: an introduction to a special topic, for this special issue. Int J women’s dermatology. 2021;7(1):3–7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.08.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Wright CY, Norval M, Kapwata T, et al. The incidence of skin cancer in relation to climate change in South Africa. Atmosphere (Basel). 2019;10(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10100634

  20. Hidaka T, Fujimura T, Aiba S. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulates carcinogenesis and maintenance of skin cancers. Front Med. 2019;6:194. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2019.00194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Koohgoli R, Hudson L, Naidoo K, Wilkinson S, Chavan B, Birch-Machin MA. Bad air gets under your skin. Exp Dermatol. 2017;26(5):384–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/exd.13257.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Vidyasagar A, Wilson NA, Djamali A. Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27): biomarker of disease and therapeutic target. Fibrogenesis Tissue Repair. 2012;5(1):7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1755-1536-5-7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Choi S-K, Kam H, Kim K-Y, Park SI, Lee Y-S. Targeting heat shock protein 27 in cancer: a druggable target for cancer treatment? Cancers (Basel). 2019;11(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers11081195

  24. Bharath AK, Turner RJ. Impact of climate change on skin cancer. J R Soc Med. 2009;102(6):215–8. https://doi.org/10.1258/jrsm.2009.080261.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Mitchell D, Allen MR, Hall JW, Muller B, Rajamani L, Le Quéré C. The myriad challenges of the Paris Agreement. Philos Trans Ser A, Math Phys Eng Sci. 2018;376(2119). https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2018.0066

  26. Nations U. The Paris Agreement. United Nations. Accessed April 20, 2022. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement

  27. Nunez C. Global warming solutions, explained. national geographic. Published 2019. Accessed April 20, 2022.  https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/global-warming-solutions

  28. Popovich N. The Trump Administration rolled back more than 100 environmental rules. Here’s the full list. New York Times. Published 2020. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/climate/trump-environment-rollbacks-list.html

  29. Blinken AJ. The United States officially rejoins the Paris Agreement. Published 2021. Accessed April 3, 2022. https://www.state.gov/the-united-states-officially-rejoins-the-paris-agreement/

  30. Forrester P. Biden Administration asserts climate leadership and releases long-term strategy for net-zero GHG by 2050. Published 2021. Accessed April 3, 2022. https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/perspectives-events/publications/2021/11/biden-administration-asserts-climate-leadership-and-releases-longterm-strategy-for-netzero-ghg-by-2050

  31. Climate Action Tracker. Accessed April 1, 2022. https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/usa/

  32. Lin MJ, Torbeck RL, Dubin DP, Lin CE, Khorasani H. Climate change and skin cancer. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2019;33(9):e324–5. https://doi.org/10.1111/jdv.15622.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Whitmee S, Haines A, Beyrer C, et al. Safeguarding human health in the Anthropocene epoch: report of The Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on planetary health. Lancet (London, England). 2015;386(10007):1973–2028. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60901-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Andersen LK, Davis MDP. Climate change and the epidemiology of selected tick-borne and mosquito-borne diseases: update from the International Society of Dermatology Climate Change Task Force. Int J Dermatol. 2017;56(3):252–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijd.13438.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. ••Coates SJ, Norton SA. The effects of climate change on infectious diseases with cutaneous manifestations. Int J women’s dermatology. 2021;7(1):8–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.07.005 . The authors present a rich discussion of the interplay between climate change and cutaneous infectious diseases, focusing on vector-borne illnesse as well as diseases stemming from extreme weather events and human migration caused by climate-related displacement, which supplements the primary focus of this review article by adding a dimension of focus beyond cutaneous malignancy. Salient findings include that changing weather patterns facilitate the expansion of pathogens, vectors, and reservoirs beyond their typical geographic ranges, meaning that dermatologists must have a higher index of suspicion for infectious etiologies of cutaneous disease despite the fact that these pathogens may not have previously been endemic to their region.

  36. D’Amato G, Holgate ST, Pawankar R, et al. Meteorological conditions, climate change, new emerging factors, and asthma and related allergic disorders. A statement of the World Allergy Organization. World Allergy Organ J. 2015;8(1):25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40413-015-0073-0

  37. Fivenson D. Why dermatologists should care about climate change. Published 2019. Accessed April 12, 2022. https://opmed.doximity.com/articles/why-dermatologists-should-care-about-climate-change?_csrf_attempted=yes

  38. •Blum S, Buckland M, Sack TL, Fivenson D. Greening the office: saving resources, saving money, and educating our patients. Int J women’s dermatology. 2021;7(1):112–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.04.013 . The authors present practical and easily-adoptable strategies for improving "green" office practices, including both electricity- and water-saving initiatives, as well as recommending that practices adopt use of the My Green Doctor practice management tool to improve accountability, reduce carbon footprints, and involve the entire clinic staff (including both physicians and ancillary staff) in conversations about environmental responsibility. The authors also highlight the role of dermatologists in educating the public by modeling green practices to patients.

  39. Fathy R, Nelson CA, Barbieri JS. Combating climate change in the clinic: cost-effective strategies to decrease the carbon footprint of outpatient dermatologic practice. Int J women’s dermatology. 2021;7(1):107–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijwd.2020.05.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Charity Navigator. Charity navigator. Published 2022. Accessed April 12, 2022. https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm

  41. Charity Navigator. We ACT for Environmental Justice. Published 2022. Accessed April 12, 2022. https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/133800068?from=HotTopic-Grouped&fromlistid=515

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Duke University, 27710, Durham, NC, USA

    Michael Seth Flynn & Benjamin R. Cooper

  2. College of Osteopathic Medicine, Rocky Vista University, Parker, CO, 80134, USA

    Michael Seth Flynn

  3. Department of Dermatology, Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC, USA

    Chandler W. Rundle, Elaine Otchere & Christopher Stamey

  4. Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94304, USA

    Jaclyn Anderson

  5. Transitional Year Residency, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, Austin, TX, USA

    Melissa Laughter

  6. Division of Dermatology, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Allentown, PA, USA

    Colby L. Presley

Authors
  1. Michael Seth Flynn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Benjamin R. Cooper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Chandler W. Rundle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jaclyn Anderson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Melissa Laughter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Colby L. Presley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Elaine Otchere
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Christopher Stamey
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher Stamey.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

None declared.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

IRB Statement

Not applicable to this letter.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Flynn, M.S., Cooper, B.R., Rundle, C.W. et al. Skin Cancer, Climate Change, and Opportunities for Dermatologists. Curr Derm Rep 12, 92–99 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13671-023-00390-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13671-023-00390-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation