bySite Admin

Climate Change, Commentary, Dermatology, Media Appearance, News, Opinion, Publications, Skin HealthMarch 4, 20240 comments

Dr. Eva Parker Referenced in CNN Opinion Article

Dr. Eva Parker’s research was recently referenced on CNN.com as part of an opinion piece by Dr. Susannah Hills, a pediatric airway surgeon and assistant professor and vice chair of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery at the Columbia University Medical Center.

In the article, Dr. Hills describes ignoring an itchy skin patch on her scalp. The patch was ultimately diagnosed as basal cell cancer causing Dr. Hills to reflect not only on her own health habits and misconceptions about skin cancer, but also on how she can can help her patients, including those who think they already practice good sun protection habits, seek medical care early for unusual skin changes.

Dr. Parker’s research on climate change, “The influence of climate change on skin cancer incidence – A review of the evidence,” published in the International Journal of Women’s Dermatology, is referenced in Dr. Hill’s article:

“Many experts attribute this trend to factors such as climate change, global warming and increased exposure to harmful UV rays.”

In her review, Dr. Parker examines “the relationship between climate change and cutaneous carcinogenesis. Climate change is broadly affecting human health, with grave concern that continued warming of the earth’s atmosphere will result is serious harm. Since the mid-20th century, skin cancer incidence rates have risen at an alarming rate worldwide.” A literature review used the National Institutes of Health databases (PubMed and Medline), the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results and International Agency for Research on Cancer registries, and published reports by federal and international agencies and consortia, including the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Climate and Clean Air Coalition, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, United Nations Environment Programme, World Health Organization, and World Meteorological Organization.

An abstract can be viewed at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352647520301155 and the full manuscript can be viewed in PDF format on the IJWD website.