Anthropometric features and cutaneous melanoma risk: A prospective cohort study in French women Marina Kvaskoff a,b,c,d,e , Anne Bijon a,b,c , Sylvie Mesrine a,b,c , Alice Vilier a,b,c , Franc¸oise Clavel-Chapelon a,b,c , Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault a,b,c, * a Inserm U1018, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP), ‘‘Nutrition, Hormones and Women’s Health’’ Team, F-94805 Villejuif, France b Univ. Paris Sud 11, UMRS 1018, F-94807 Villejuif, France c Gustave Roussy, F-94805 Villejuif, France d Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA e Cancer Control Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Herston, QLD 4006, Australia 1. Introduction Cutaneous melanoma is a potentially lethal cancer for which incidence has risen considerably worldwide over recent decades [1]. Its main risk factors include sun exposure, pigmentary traits and familial history of the disease [2]. Associations with other factors are less clear, although evidence suggests a potential influence of sex hormones on melanoma risk [3–5]. Body size has been related to sex hormones [6–8], and some anthropometric characteristics were suggested to be risk factors for cancer in women, particularly breast [9,10], ovary [11], or endometrial [12] cancer. Several epidemiological studies examined the relation- ships between anthropometric factors and melanoma risk in women, but results have been inconsistent regarding measures of body fatness, and few analyses involved large prospective cohort data. Moreover, most studies generally included a narrow range of characteristics, such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and body surface area (BSA). However, other factors, such as components of height or body shapes throughout life, which were suggested to reflect pre-pubertal and pubertal growth [13,14], may Cancer Epidemiology 38 (2014) 357–363 A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 10 January 2014 Received in revised form 24 April 2014 Accepted 22 May 2014 Available online 28 June 2014 Keywords: Anthropometry Cohort studies Cutaneous melanoma Epidemiology A B S T R A C T Background: Epidemiological studies on anthropometric features and cutaneous melanoma risk in women yielded inconsistent results, with few analyses involving prospective cohort data. Our objective was to explore several anthropometric characteristics in relation to the risk of melanoma in women. Methods: We prospectively analysed data from E3N, a French cohort involving 98,995 women born in 1925–1950. Participants completed self-administered questionnaires sent biennially over 1990–2008. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed using Cox proportional hazards regression models, adjusted for age, number of naevi, freckling, skin and hair colour, skin sensitivity to sun exposure, residential sun exposure, and physical activity. Results: Height was positively associated with melanoma in age-adjusted models only (RR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.05–1.55 for 164 cm vs. <160 cm; P for trend = 0.02). After full adjustment, there was a significantly positive relationship between sitting-to-standing height ratio and melanoma risk (RR = 1.40, 95% CI = 1.06–1.86 for 0.533 vs. <0.518; P for trend = 0.02). A large body shape at menarche was inversely associated with the risk of melanoma (RR = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.62–0.98; compared with lean). However, weight, body mass index, body surface area, waist or hip circumference, sitting height or leg length were not significantly associated with risk. Conclusion: These results suggest that height, sitting-to-standing height ratio and body shape at menarche may be associated with melanoma risk. Further research is required to confirm these relationships and better understand the underlying mechanisms. ß 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; BSA, body surface area; CI, confidence interval; E3N, Etude Epide´ miologique aupre`s de femmes de l’Education Nationale; IGF, insulin-like growth factor; MET, metabolism equivalent task; RR, relative risk; UVR, ultraviolet radiation; WHR, waist-to-hip ratio. * Corresponding author at: Inserm U1018, «Nutrition, Hormones et Sante´ de la Femme», Gustave Roussy, Espace Maurice Tubiana, 114 rue Edouard Vaillant, F-94805 Villejuif Cedex, France. Tel.: +33 1 4211 6466; fax: +33 1 4211 4000. E-mail address: Marie-christine.BOUTRON@gustaveroussy.fr (M.-C. Boutron-Ruault). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Cancer Epidemiology The International Journal of Cancer Epidemiology, Detection, and Prevention jou r nal h o mep age: w ww.c an cer ep idem io log y.n et http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2014.05.008 1877-7821/ß 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.