Tanning Devices – Fast Track to Skin Cancer?

Abstract

The use of UVB and/or UVA emitting devices for cosmetic tanning is widespread in Western populations including young people and is especially prevalent in females. Several epidemiological studies, although not all, have shown a significant relationship between the use of tanning devices and malignant melanoma after, in some cases, adjustment for confounding factors such as solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure. A relationship between solar exposure, especially intermittent exposure, and malignant melanoma is well established so it is not surprising that a similar connection has been reported for the use of tanning devices. Several epidemiological studies show that childhood exposure to sunlight is a risk factor for malignant melanoma and this may also be the case for the use of tanning devices, especially if sunburns are obtained.Some studies have evaluated the relationship between the use of tanning devices and non-melanoma skin cancer and at least one has suggested an association. The use of tanning devices by a substantial minority of young people is a worrying trend in terms of a likely increased incidence of malignant melanoma, and possibly non-melanoma cancers in the future. Although two recent reviews by epidemiologists conclude that a clear link between tanning devices and malignant melanoma is yet to be proven, there is a strong case for effective legislation to prohibit the use of tanning devices by people under 18 yr of age.

Ultraviolet B but not Ultraviolet A Radiation Initiates Melanoma

“…Other advantages of a melanoma action 5 G. Bernhard, personal communication; http://www.libradtran.org/. (20), its use in providing valuable information on the in vivo absorption spectrum of the principal target molecule involved in the UV initiation of melanoma aiding in its identification (1), and its use in suggesting molecular/genetic pathways for future study. These data would provide significant insight into an overall evaluation of the role of UV in melanoma risk.…”

Exposure to sunlamps, tanning beds, and melanoma risk

“…Of course it is also possible the larger OR may be the result of small numbers or simply an artifact, which we were unable to assess. A number of epidemiologic investigations have attempted to determine the nature of the putative association between artificial UV and melanoma with more recent studies generally suggesting use of artificial tanning devices is a risk factor [25,28,29]. However, three recent European studies reported conflicting results; the U.K. and multi-center European case-control studies found no association and the only cohort study to date in Scandinavia found the highest association among the youngest users with the longest lag time [26,32,59].…”

“…The influence of artificial sources of UV on risk of melanoma has been examined by numerous studies (for example [24][25][26][27][28]) although findings to date have been heterogeneous, with much of the inconsistency attributed to small sample sizes with low statistical power to detect a plausible association [7,[25][26][27][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. Moreover, most studies to date have not been able to distinguish exposures by device type and many did not control for known melanoma risk factors such as pigmentary characteristics and solar exposures [29,37,40].…”

Tanning Beds, Sunlamps, and Risk of Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma

“…Because by its nature, exposure to artificial UV radiation through sunlamp and sunbed use is intermittent in character, there has been consistent concern over the past 15 years that use of such devices for recreational tanning may increase risk of melanoma (3). In addition, data from surveys conducted in Europe (4,5) and North America (6) indicate that sunbeds are now being used by an increasing proportion of the population, particularly young people.…”