Incidence of skin cancer among Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors (preliminary report).

Among a total of 65,268 Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors recorded in the Scientific Data Center of Atomic Bomb Disaster, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, 140 cases with skin cancer were collected from 31 hospitals in Nagasaki City from 1961 through 1987. Subsequently, these cases of skin cancer in Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors were statistically analyzed in relation to the estimated distance from the hypocenter by age, sex, histology and latent period. The results were as follows: 1. A high correlation was observed between the incidence of skin cancer and the distance from the hypocenter. 2. The incidence of skin cancer in Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors now appears to be increasing in relation to exposure distance. 3. Among 140 cases, basal cell epithelioma was observed in 67 cases (47.9%) and squamous cell carcinoma in 43 cases (30.7%).