Links between Skin Cancer and Tanning Bed Usage:

• Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed in the United States, the rates have been on the rise since the1970’s, particularly among young non-Hispanic white women.⁽¹⁾
• Better awareness and detection as well as higher rates of exposure to ultraviolet radiation such as indoor tanning and sun exposure.⁽²⁾
• Indoor tanning includes the use of beds, booths or sunlamps to achieve a darkening in skin pigmentation similar to that of outdoor sun exposure, but in a more concentrated form over a shorter time period.⁽³⁾   
• Ultraviolet radiation exposure to the skin, whether natural or artificial, causes damage to the DNA of the keratinocytes.  This stimulates the cells to produce melanin a protein that provides the cell protection from further DNA damage while also giving the skin a darker or tanned appearance.⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾
• The process of tanning leads to a destructive cycle:  the more UV radiation the skin is exposed to, the more damage is done to the DNA, the more melanin is produce in order to protect the keratinocytes, and the darker the skin pigment becomes.⁽⁴⁾
• Short term ultraviolet radiation exposure leads to erythema and sunburn with other possible  symptoms including dryness, pruritus, nausea, and photodrug reactions.
• Long term effects include advanced skin aging, eye damage such as cataracts, and skin cancers such as basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, and melanomas with melanomas being the most dangerous.⁽⁶⁾
• Indoor tanning uses bulbs that emit predominately UVA radiation through a high pressure process.⁽⁴⁾  However, to achieve a more permanent tan, UVB bulbs are also included in indoor tanning devices.⁽⁶⁾
• Tanning bed exposure can be up to 10 to 15 times more potent than exposure to the sun when it is at its peak.⁽³⁾
• Individuals who use tanning beds regularly receive 1.2 to 4.7 times higher dose of UVA radiation than they would receive from natural sunlight.⁽³⁾  
• In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer released information that tanning beds were more harmful than originally thought and placed them in the highest cancer risk category: “carcinogenic to humans.” ⁽¹⁰⁾

Do You Know Your ABCs?

Use the ABCDEs of skin cancer to help identify suspicious lesions and have then examined by your physician.  Identifying these lesions in the early stages can be curative and life saving.  Follow the link to SkinCancer.org for more information about a self exam.