Background: The role of heavy metals in carcinogenetic process has been widely established however, information on the most common environmental metals that serve as major risk factors for actinic keratosis (AK)/non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) are still lacking. We aim to evaluate levels of the most common environmental heavy metals in hair of patients with AK/NMSC as compared to healthy controls. Methods: 31 patients diagnosed with AK/NMSC and 34 healthy controls were enrolled. Patients were interviewed for heavy metals exposure and underwent hair analysis for detection of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb). Continuous variables were analyzed using Wilcoxon non-parametric rank test and proportions were compared by Fisher exact test. Statistical significance was determined by p