Doctors and scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) are carrying out Australia's largest medical study for skin caner in the Sunshine State, hoping to improve ways of identifying those most at risk, QIMR said on Tuesday.

Researchers at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) are now seeking more than 200,000 men and women to participate in the "QSkin" study.

Queensland has the highest rates of melanoma and skin cancer in the world.

"Around 451,000 people will be newly diagnosed with non- melanoma skin cancers in Australia in 2010, and more than 2000 will develop melanoma," said one of the study leaders, Associate Professor David Whiteman from QIMR's Cancer Control Group.

"With better knowledge of the causes, we can work towards better methods for preventing and treating these cancers," he said.

Research participants will be asked about previous sun exposure, number of freckles and moles, skin type, past cases of the cancer as well as any family history, and many other factors.

"We hope to gain a better understanding of how skin cancers develop and who is at greatest risk," Whiteman said.

"Researchers will develop a tool that doctors and patients can use to predict a person's future risk of developing melanoma and other skin cancers."

He said similar tools had been developed for heart disease, for example, and it had proved to be highly effective in helping doctors and patients manage the risks of disease.

People in Queensland aged 40 to 69 years are invited to take part in the QSkin study.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet