Harvesting Risk: An Ecologic Study of Agricultural Practices and Patterns and Melanoma Incidence in Pennsylvania

Melanoma incidence clustered in South Central PA, an area with substantial agricultural industry. However, a majority of counties in the cluster were designated as metropolitan, challenging the concept that agriculture is primarily an industry of counties designated as nonmetropolitan (rural). Agricultural practices and patterns were associated with incidence, suggesting that cancer control adopt an integrated One Health approach to concurrently address occupational, environmental, and behavioral risks. The cluster was entirely within the 28-county catchment area of the Penn State Cancer Institute, demonstrating the utility of geospatial data and analysis for cancer control by a cancer center.