Toenail Arsenic Content and Cutaneous Melanoma in Iowa Laura E. Beane Freeman1,2 , Leslie K. Dennis2, Charles F. Lynch2, Peter S. Thorne3 and Craig L. Just4 1 Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD. 2 Department of Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. 3 Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. 4 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA. Cutaneous melanoma has the lowest survival rate of all forms of skin cancer. There has been little research investigating the link between arsenic and cutaneous melanoma, although arsenic has been associated with increased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer. The authors performed a case-control study examining the association between cutaneous melanoma and environmental arsenic exposure among Iowans aged 40 years or older. Participants included 368 cutaneous melanoma cases and 373 colorectal cancer controls diagnosed in 1999 or 2000, frequency matched on gender and age. Participants completed a mailed survey and submitted toenail clippings for analysis of arsenic content by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The authors found an increased risk of melanoma for participants with elevated toenail arsenic concentrations (odds ratio = 2.1, 95 percent confidence interval: 1.4, 3.3; p-trend = 0.001) and effect modification by prior skin cancer diagnosis (p-interaction = 0.03). The arsenic-melanoma findings in this study are not known to have been previously reported in observational epidemiologic studies involving incident cutaneous melanoma. Therefore, the findings warrant confirmation. American Journal of Epidemiology 2004 160(7):679-687; doi:10.1093/aje/kwh267 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.