How To Quickly Reduce Carcinoma Cases Worldwide
OPEN LETTER TO LEGISLATURES WORLDWIDE
I suggest an additional safety feature for car and truck manufacturers. Recently I was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma on my left temple. It was removed successfully. During a discussion with my dermatologist, I learned that far more basal cell carcinomas appear on the left side of the face and the left arm than the right side. When I asked why it usually appears on the left side, she replied that the sun shining through the driver’s side window gives the left side of the face and arm far more UV radiation exposure. When I asked if the automobile industry was aware of this, she gave me a puzzled look.
A National Institute of Health study concludes that “There were significantly more skin cancers on the left than the right side in men. This discrepancy was even more profound in malignant melanoma in situ.” 1
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that “The level of front-windshield UV-A protection was consistently high among automobiles. The level of side-window UV-A protection was lower and highly variable. 2
Of course, the obvious solution to this problem is to add a UVA screen to the side car windows. Cancers of the skin, primarily basal and squamous cell skin cancers, are by far the most common of all types of cancer. About 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the U.S. This number can easily be reduced by adding UVA protection to the side windows.
I have previously sent letters to automobile manufactures in the US and Europe asking that the amount of UVA protection in the side windows be increased. I received no replies.
I now turn to legislative bodies to mandate the easy fix. If you do not help fix this problem, who will?
Thank you also for your consideration of this suggestion.
Sincerely,
Garry W. Stanberry
1 Susan T. Butler and Scott W, Fosko,” Increased prevalence of left-sided skin cancers,“ Journal of the American Academy of Dermatologists. 2010 Dec; 63(6):1006-10. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2009.11.032. Epub 2010 Mar 11. PMID: 20226568.
2 Brian S. Boxer Wachler, “Assessment of Levels of Ultraviolet A Light Protection in Automobile Windshields and Side Windows,” JAMA Ophthalmology. 2016;134(7):772–775. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2016.1139