Anthropometric measures, medical history and risk of basal cell carcinoma in an Italian case-control study

Background/Aims: A few epidemiological studies investigated etiological factors for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) other than sunlight exposure and sunburns. Information on anthropometric measures and medical history is scant. Methods: We examined the issue in a case-control study including 528 patients with incident, histologically confirmed BCC and 512 controls hospitalized with acute conditions. Results: Odds ratios (OR) for the highest versus the lowest quartiles were 0.77 for weight, 0.99 for height, 0.87 for body mass index and 0.81 for body surface area. Corresponding estimates for trunk BCC were 0.42, 0.81, 0.50 and 0.47. Subjects with asthma (OR = 0.26) and diabetes mellitus (OR = 0.23) showed a decreased risk of trunk BCC but not face and neck BCC. Conclusion: The inverse relations between trunk, but not face and neck BCC, and obesity, diabetes mellitus and asthma may indirectly reflect the different role of past sunlight exposure to different body locations and variable etiologic pathways for BCCs according to body areas.