Sun Exposure and Skin Cancer

Many articles described the rising incidence of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer in recent years. Current estimates indicate that the incidence of melanoma is increasing by at least 4% by year [1–3]. There are multiple contributing factors to this increase, one of which is the potential and probable role of climate change. The idea of “climate change” has the potential to be a contentious and politicized subject. Therefore, in order to provide appropriate context for this chapter, it was necessary to explore the evidence to date for climate change, to describe the way in which climate change is studied, and how the predicted changes in climate in the near to intermediate future will impact the diagnosis and management of skin cancer. This brief review is not meant to be exhaustive in detail or scope, but rather to provide a functional understanding of the subject of climate change.