The authors present the first stage of a case-referent study conducted in order to confront a hypothesis which suggests the existence of an important casual relationship between the exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and skin cancer. The investigated group consisted of patients suffering from skin cancer, while control groups comprised individuals from the general population and patients from hospital departments and dermatological outpatient clinics. The present paper deals with the characteristics of cases and their referents, ways of selecting examinees, a method of data collecting (history of a patient in the form of a questionnaire), the work of interviewers and the information concerning localization and histopathological forms of diagnosed skin cancers, as well as reasons for not examining all persons.