TO: All melanoma researchers, doctors, and patients.

I am a 35-year-old electrical engineer investigating the role of
Vitamin D in malignant melanoma and other skin tumors.  Every year
since 2003 I have published the accessible idea that melanoma is caused
by a deficiency in the "sunshine vitamin", but thus far nobody has
taken it seriously.  Nonetheless, I will try again each year to
stimulate any interest amongst the medical community or patient
outreach by presenting the following basic evidence:

The recent, widespread use of sunscreens began in the late 1960's to
early 1970's, with SPF lotions originating in 1972.  The government
began collecting cancer statistics at that time, and melanoma showed a
4% year-to-year increase, alarmingly outpacing any other cancer growth.
(Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, an internal disease that has been
statistically associated with a risk of melanoma, became the
second-fastest growing cancer.)  Those lotions of the 1970's blocked
UVB light, which is necessary for synthesizing Vitamin D3, but since
Vitamin D3 does not normally occur in food, the increased use of
sunscreens must have caused a relative deficiency.  Thus, a material
reason substantiates the strong historical correlation of melanoma and
Vitamin D deficiency.

The incidence of melanoma and Vitamin D deficiency continued to grow
alongside further sun-protective efforts of the 1980's and 1990's.  For
example, in 1978 the FDA declared that sunscreens prevent skin cancer
and following their increased demand, pediatric melanomas started
becoming evident by the early 1990's; then in 1994, the National
Weather Service began issuing daily "UV Index" forecasts in association
with the EPA, which provides warnings to avoid the midday hours--those
hours that are most important for Vitamin D synthesis--and in just the
last few years, children barely out of the womb have made headlines
with melanoma, unfathomable in the past.

The site of skin cancer is equally illustrative.  In males, the most
common form of melanoma occurs largely on the trunk, which is typically
covered by a shirt in modern times, but less often on the face and
hands, which tend to receive more outdoor light; the trunk skin is thus
more susceptible to Vitamin D depletion and consequently the formation
of melanoma; the trunk is also a common site for dysplastic moles,
seborrhea keratoses, and cherry hemangiomas, indicating that Vitamin
D--or lack thereof--plays a role in those skin tumors as well.  In
females, melanoma commonly occurs on the legs, and since women are the
ones wearing higher-heeled, pointier-toed, smaller-sized shoes, it
seems that chronic circulatory disturbances, such as from poor posture,
are relevant to melanoma.

Now, it is essential to realize that excessive sunlight exposure
darkens and thickens naturally white skin, which inhibits the synthesis
of Vitamin D for those who apparently need it the most.  Accordingly,
the prevention of melanoma is an optimization problem, meaning that a
balance must be maintained between getting too much sunlight and not
enough.  The extremist advice of dermatologists, to avoid the sun
altogether, was therefore just as unwise as a tan; after all, tanning
is Nature's own sunscreen.  Indeed, moderation is the key to melanoma
prevention.

Based on the foregoing, I suggest that those who are at highest risk
for melanoma take a daily D3 supplement and/or maintain the whitest
possible skin, while exposing the largest possible area to the greatest
amount of midday sunshine; remember that midday provides the most UVB
and hence Vitamin D.  But since fair skin gives less protection from
carcinogenic ultraviolet wavelengths, such as UVA, I advise minimizing
the use of unbalanced, electrical lights (especially fluorescent
lighting) and avoiding direct sun exposure through window and
automobile glass--just as was done by humans for millennia.  And
finally, posture correction would encourage a more even distribution of
Vitamin D3, such as in the limbs and extremities where circulation can
be problematic.

Thank you very much for considering my novel approach.

James Semmel
Albuquerque, New Mexico