THE NAMBOUR SKIN-CANCER AND ACTINIC-EYE-DISEASE PREVENTION TRIAL - DESIGN AND BASE-LINE CHARACTERISTICS OF PARTICIPANTS

The Nambour Skin Cancer and Actinic Eye Disease Prevention Trial (the Nambour Trial) is a field trial conducted in an unselected adult popul ation in Australia. Using a randomized 2 x 2 factorial design, the pri ncipal aim is to evaluate whether regular use of high-protection sunsc reen and/or dietary supplementation with beta-carotene (30 mg daily) c an alter the incidence rates of basal cell carcinomas and squamous cel l carcinomas of the skin over a minimum follow-up time of 4.5 years. C hanges in the incidence of solar keratoses and actinic eye disease and the rate of photoaging after intervention will also be investigated . In 1992, 1626 participants between the ages of 25 and 75 years were e nrolled, all of whom had been randomly selected from residents of the southeastern Queensland township of Nambour for an earlier skin cancer prevalence survey. This paper describes the background to the trial a nd its design, with respect to evaluation of effects on actinic skin d isease, and documents the baseline characteristics of participants rec ruited into the Nambour Trial.