Association between phenotypic characteristics and melanoma in a large prospective cohort study

To delineate causal pathways for melanoma, it is essential to derive unbiased estimates of risk. Extant knowledge derives largely from case-control studies with potential for bias. In a population-based prospective study (QSkin, n=38,854), we assessed melanoma risks associated with pigmentation characteristics and other phenotypes, and explored additive interactions.We fitted Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for other factors to estimate independent effects of each characteristic on melanoma risk.