For over fifty years, ultraviolet radiation from the sun has been the number one suspected cause of skin cancer. Epidemiologic data from Australia, animal studies with artificial sources of ultraviolet light, and the development of skin cancer in individuals with a genetic inability to correct the DNA damage caused by ultraviolet radiation provided circumstantial evidence of the connection.
皮肤癌发病率大幅增长的同时，我们对这种疾病的理解也日益深入。50多年来，人们一直怀疑阳光中的紫外线辐射是皮肤癌的最大诱因。澳洲的流行病学数据、人造紫外线照射的动物学研究、以及基因存在问题，无法纠正紫外线DNA伤害的人患皮肤癌的几率，提供了证明联系存在的详尽证据。不久前的研究从分子和细胞的层次上证明：阳光和皮肤癌之间确实存在着因果关系。