This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Occupational and Environmental Medicine  • Oncology  • Skin Cancer  • Dermatology  • Melanoma  • Alert me on articles by topic

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

To the Editor: Population-based information about incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancers is important because these data are generally not collected in US registries, but methodological features of the study by Dr Christenson and colleagues¹ limit the interpretation of the results and their comparability with other cancer incidence data.

The first problem is the choice of standard population. Age standardization is a commonly accepted method to nullify the age structure of particular populations and change the cancer incidence rates into indices that are compatible across different populations. The choice of standard population does not matter as long as it is accepted by all parties involved. The current standard in the United States is the US 2000 standard population that is used by the federal agencies^2-4 and, generally, by the research community. It is not specific to race. Because the authors selected the population structure of US whites in 2000 as their . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Kiumarss Nasseri, DVM, MPH, PhD
qnasseri@tccsp.org
Public Health Institute/California Cancer Registry
Tri-Counties Cancer Surveillance Program
Santa Barbara, Calif

RELATED ARTICLES

Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Persons Younger Than 40 Years
David Neely
JAMA. 2006;295(3):278.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Persons Younger Than 40 Years
Chad T. Wilson
JAMA. 2006;295(3):278.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Persons Younger Than 40 Years
Jashin J. Wu, Shahdad E. Behnam, Douglas J. Fife, and David B. Huang
JAMA. 2006;295(3):278-279.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Persons Younger Than 40 Years—Reply
Leslie J. Christenson, Theresa A. Borrowman, Celine M. Vachon, Megha M. Tollefson, Clark C. Otley, Amy L. Weaver, and Randall K. Roenigk
JAMA. 2006;295(3):279-281.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Incidence of Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinomas in a Population Younger Than 40 Years
Leslie J. Christenson, Theresa A. Borrowman, Celine M. Vachon, Megha M. Tollefson, Clark C. Otley, Amy L. Weaver, and Randall K. Roenigk
JAMA. 2005;294(6):681-690.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT