TEENAGERS who use sunbeds are more likely to develop the most deadly form of
skin cancer by the age of 40, new research reveals.
A study, conducted in the US state of Minnesota, found women under 40
diagnosed with melanoma had started sunbed-tanning at an earlier age.
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The findings, published online by the journal JAMA Dermatology, showed women
who used sunbeds increased the risk of developing melanoma by two to six
times.
More than 13,000 people were diagnosed with melanoma in the UK in 2011, and
there are 132,000 cases every year, according to the World Health
Foundation.
One in every three cancers diagnosed is a skin cancer which accounts for more
deaths than all other cancers combined.
The study examined the likelihood of the disease in relation to the age when
the patient started, how often and the age they were diagnosed.
A total of 681 patients diagnosed with melanoma between 2004 and 2007 and 654
comparison patients between the ages of 25 and 49.
Among the patients with melanoma, 68.3 per cent were women – and 68.2 per cent
of the patients in the comparison group.
Women under 40 said they started indoor tanning at a younger age – 16 compared
to 25 – and they reported more frequent indoor tanning – 100 compared to 40
sessions.
A third of the women diagnosed before the age of 30 had melanomas compared
with one in four women 40 to 49.
All but two of the 63 youngest women in the group diagnosed with melanoma
younger than 30 reported tanning indoors.
Study leader Doctor DeAnn Lazovich from the University of Minnesota, said
efforts to curb youngsters exposure to indoor tanning should be “further
restricted and reduced”.
Melanoma can appear on the back, legs, arms and face and underneath a nail.
The most common sign is spotting a new mole or a change in an existing mole.