SS57-01 OCCUPATIONAL SKIN CANCERS INDUCED BY SOLAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION: AN OVERVIEW

Abstract Skin cancers constitute a serious public health issue in fair skinned populations globally, as they account for a substantial proportion of all reported occupational diseases. The number of workers diagnosed with skin cancer has continuously grown in recent times. Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the leading cause of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC; more precisely described as keratinocyte carcinoma [KC], manifesting as actinic keratosis [AK, intra-epidermal squamous cell carcinoma [SCC]], invasive cutaneous SCC, and/or basal cell carcinoma [BCC]) and the most important occupational carcinogenic exposure in terms of the number of employees exposed (i.e., professional outdoor workers). The risks of solar UVR exposure in the workplace are frequently largely ignored, and the evident future issues are contrasting against the current legal status, patient care, and compensation. To avoid skin malignancies induced by UVR exposure, outdoor workers must reduce their occupationally received UVR doses sufficiently. The necessity for interventions to promote outdoor workers' sun protection behavior has lately been recognized; yet, the dangers of solar UVR exposure in the workplace are frequently overlooked in practice. In the decades to come, occupational medicine is expected to grow more concentrated on sun safety. The entire spectrum of available preventive measures should be employed as needed to address present obstacles in a result-oriented manner. Long-term change will most likely only be possible if collective and individual prevention initiatives are successfully linked with policymakers' support.