Increased risk of skin cancer: another Celtic myth? A review of Celtic ancestry and other risk factors for malignant melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer

Abstract

It is often stated that persons of Celtic origin have an increased risk of skin cancer, but the evidence for this is almost exclusively anecdotal. We believe that the possibility of the Celts being at greater risk of skin cancer has important implications with regard to management in particular and in assisting our understanding of carcinogenesis in general. For these reasons we have reviewed all those studies implicating Celtic ancestry in the development of both malignant melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer.