The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal

MAY 2014

The 2012 edition of The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal features medically reviewed, reader-friendly articles such as tanning, the increasing incidence of skin cancer diagnoses among young women, & the prevalence of melanoma among white males over 50.

Issue link: https://skincancer.epubxp.com/i/319518

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Beauty & Anti-Aging T he jury is no longer out. Despite whatever salon owners tell you, tanning exposes the skin to con- centrated amounts of ultraviolet radia- tion (UVR), and mounting research has linked this exposure to basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell car- cinoma (SCC), and melanoma, the three most common skin cancers. Sci- entists have long believed that indoor UV tanning causes skin cancer, and now they can prove it. The clincher, if one was needed, was a recent "meta-analysis" – a study of dozens of worldwide studies over many decades – published in JAMA Derma- tology earlier this year. This exhaustive international investigation estimated that indoor tanning accounts for almost 11,000 cases of melanoma and more than 419,000 cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer each year in the US alone. 1 Dark Truths T anning darkens the skin as a response to UV-induced DNA damage; the damage activates cellular signals to re- pair the DNA damage and increase skin pigmentation as a partial barrier against further damage. Unfortunately, the repairs are rarely complete; the re- maining damage produces genetic mu- tations that can lead to skin cancers. Tanning beds attempt to reproduce the natural UVA and UVB wave- lengths that reach the earth from the sun. However, in recent years they pri- marily emit UVA, the most ef ective wavelength for inducing a tan without sunburn. When the switch to predom- inant UVA was made, it was widely believed that UVB, the "sunburn ray," was far more dangerous. We know dif- ferently now. UVA has longer wave- lengths than UVB, penetrates the skin more deeply, and produces free radicals that cause oxidative stress leading to DNA damage. It is also the primary skin aging ray. In short, both UVA and UVB cause skin damage and skin cancer. 26 S K I N C A N C E R F O U N D A T I O N J O U R N A L WHY YOU SHOULDN'T TAN re you prepping for prom? Gearing up for your winter getaway to the Greek Isles? It's time to stop at the local tanning salon for some color, a nice protective base tan, right? Not so fast. The truth is out about what it does to your skin, and it ain't pretty. Elena B. Hawryluk, MD, PhD, Alan C. Geller, David E. Fisher, MD, PhD

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