Excess of malignant melanomas in women in the British Isles.

The incidence and mortality of malignant melanoma in women of reproductive and menopausal age in the British Isles are higher than the corresponding rates for men. This is not found at older ages in these populations, or in other countries. Rates for malignant melanoma are generally low in the British Isles, although the high rates in Australia and New Zealand, largely populated from the British Isles, indicate that the populations are susceptible to the disease. It is suggested that the low rates for environmentally produced tumours enable a hormone-dependent variant of melanoma to reveal itself in British populations.