Epidemiology of eye cancer in adults in England and Wales, 1962-1977.

Incidence of eye cancer in persons 15 years of age and over in England and Wales was studied as a surrogate for eye melanoma data. Age-standardized registration rates for cancer of the eye in adults increased by half in both males and females from 1962 to 1977. This probably reflects a real increase in incidence of eye melanoma. There was a gradient of increasing incidence with decreasingly urban place of residence, but there was no gradient of incidence with latitude. In both sexes, incidence was highest in the Birmingham region. Proportional registration ratios were generally higher for nonmanual than for manual social classes and notably high for electrical and electronics workers.