Solar radiation and the incidence and mortality of leading invasive cancers in the United States

Abstract

Invasive cancer risk is inversely related to ultraviolet light exposure. This study explores relationships between cancer and the satellite-derived sunlight energy. We obtained the North America Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) daily average sunlight for the continental United States from 1999–2011. US Cancer Statistics age-adjusted-incidence and mortality was also obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We found that cancer incidence for all invasive cancers and for 11 of 22 leading cancers significantly decreased with increased solar radiation. Cancer mortality for all invasive cancers was not significantly associated with solar radiation, but for 7 of 22 leading cancers, including cancers of the uterus, leukemias, lung, ovary, and urinary bladder, increased solar radiation predicted decreased mortality. With increasing solar radiation, increased incidence and cancer mortality was observed for liver cancer and increased incidence but not mortality was observed for cervical cancer. The current study confirms studies relating UV radiation to the incidence and mortality of a variety of cancer types. We find associations between solar radiation energy and the incidence and mortality of a number of types of cancers.