Study Links Tanning Machines to Common Skin Cancers
January 8th, 2008 drberakaThe use of tanning lamps has been clearly linked to the two most common forms of skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), according to The Skin Cancer Foundation.
Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, NH, interviewed 603 BCC and 293 SCC Patients (plus 540 healthy subjects) about their sunbed and sunlamp use, their history of sun exposure, and other skin cancer risk factors. Tanning device users had 2.5 times the risk of SCC and 1.5 times the risk of BCC, compared to non-users.
Previous studies have shown that people exposed to full body tanning salon sessions have a significant increase in skin repair proteins typically associated with sun damage, and that women who frequent tanning parlors have a greater incidence of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
