Laterality of skin cancer in the Utah population

Background: Previous retrospective studies have reported increased frequency of both malignant melanoma (MM, using population-based SEER data) and nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) on the left side of the body. Population-based studies for basal and squamous cell carcinoma (BCC and SCC) have been very difficult as a database similar to SEER does not exist for NMSC, resulting in inferences from smaller retrospective cohorts to assess laterality. As Utah has one of the highest incidences of both MM and NMSC, we explored this question for both skin cancer types using a large database of all biopsies read by the University of Utah Dermatopathology Lab over the past decade.