Drivers might be putting left arm at risk for skin cancer

By JONATHAN SHORMAN June 20, 2011 11:00AM

Driving with window down appears be causing Americans develop more skcancer left side body. This driver with arm window

Driving with the window down appears to be causing Americans to develop more skin cancer on the left side of the body. This driver with arm in window in Chicago, Tuesday, June 20, 2011. | John H. White~Sun-Times.

Updated: June 21, 2011 9:34AM

Driving with the window down appears to be causing Americans to develop more skin cancer on the left side of the body, new research shows.

The left arm receives more ultraviolet radiation, say researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, who analyzed cancer cases recorded in a government database.

They found that when skin cancer occurred on one side of the body, 52 percent of melanoma cases and 53 percent of merkel cell carcinomas were on the left side.

On the upper arms, 55 percent of merkel cell cases developed on the left side.

In countries where people drive on the opposite side, researchers cited a 1986 study that found Australian men were more likely to get precancerous growths on their right sides.

Gannett News Service

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