Melanoma and tanning

Summer is now officially here, but before you spend hours relaxing poolside or visit a tanning booth it is important to consider the latest research on melanoma.

In July 2009 the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that tanning beds using UV were “carcinogenic to humans”. Not surprisingly, the International Smart Tan Network attacked these findings and other related studies as biased and non-supportive.

A new study at the Minnesota Cancer Surveillance System, a population-based statewide cancer registry has found that tanning bed usage is associated with a 74%increased risk for melanoma. This is significant because this study looked at patients diagnosed with invasive cutaneous melanoma from July 2004 to December 2007; they completed a questionnaire and a phone interview. These 1,167 patients along with 1,101 healthy control patients participated in the study from December 2004 to March 2009. Approximately 63% of the patients and 51.1% of the healthy control participants reported using tanning beds. The results include:
• Increased risk was strongly correlated with frequency of use
• Highest risk was among those who had tanned for 10 or more years compared to those who had only tanned for one year
• Patients were more likely to have reported painful burns while tanning indoors (they thought they were protected from burns when using tanning beds)
• Risk was especially elevated among users of UBV-enhanced and primarily UVA-emitting devices.

There are no biases here - these are just the facts! These folks did or did not use tanning beds and did or did not get melanoma. Melanoma is increasing and according to Allan Halpern, MD chief of dermatology services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, “There’s no question that the data have been mounting and we know that tanning beds are part of the problem.”

Ok, you may be thinking that you don’t use tanning beds and you never will. You are going to just get your nice tan from the sun - please read on. One of the established risk factors for melanoma is UV light. So tanning under the sun or in the tanning bed exposes you to UV light!

So many of us look at a tan as a “healthy glow”. Not so. A tan is actually a sign of damage to the skin. Wrinkles, drying, brown spots are just not attractive, but melanoma is deadly! You may live a lifetime and end up with those wrinkles etc, but unfortunately you may be one of the more than 60,000 people a year who are diagnosed with melanoma in the United States. Unfortunately, it can appear at any time, young or old.

Don’t get me wrong- I LOVE the sun. I’m a Southerner through and through, but there was a reason ladies wore bonnets and men wore hats. Visit the American Academy of Dermatology or the American Cancer Society and learn how to protect your children and yourself. If you are interested in taking part in a clinical trial on melanoma or skin cancer, click here.

For more information on the tanning bed study, click here.

Jenny Ellis, RN, MS, AOCN
Oncology Nurse Specialist
Texas Health HEB