International Study Links Tanning Beds to Melanoma

[ColdDayInHell]

You might have heard this before but I feel this message begs repeating:

From the Skin Cancer Foundation -

Many teens and twenty-somethings want that bronzed glow all year 'round, and when they can't tan outdoors, millions use sunbeds to get it. Every year, nearly 2.3 million American teenagers visit tanning salons.

The dangerous consequence is a significantly increased risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, according to an international study (IRAC, "The Association of Use of Sunbeds with Cutaneous Malignant Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers: A Systematic Review," International Journal of Cancer 120, no. 5 (2006): 1116 - 1122). Reviewing all available worldwide data - 19 international studies - a Working Group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, a branch of the World Health Organization) found a strong association between tanning bed use and melanoma risk. Across all age groups, males and females who have ever used tanning beds have a 15 percent higher risk of developing melanoma.

More alarming still, based on 7 worldwide studies, people who first use a tanning bed before age 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent.

The IARC's findings also reinforce previous research showing that tanning bed use increases the risk for squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common skin cancer.

False Claims by Tanning Proprietors

Finally, the study disputes tanning salon owners' and operators' frequent claims that sunbeds offer health benefits because they provide a "base tan" that helps avoid sunburn. "The evidence does not support a protective effect of the use of sunbeds against damage to the skin from subsequent sun exposure. There is no such thing as a safe tan," declares Dr. Béatrice Secretan, coordinator of the IARC Working Group. "Young adults should be discouraged from using indoor tanning equipment, and restricted access to sunbeds by minors should be strongly considered."

The Skin Cancer Foundation will be officially launching their "Go with Your Own Glow" campaign in May, and you can see the short film about the campaign below:

 

[Ricci]

Yes in front of one Tanning salon in my town there is a sign that said Tanning is healthy for u it Ooozes Vitamin D? Hmm

 

[Ezliving_Jim]

There is controversy about this. Many believe that moderate exposure to UV light is healthy behavior, eliminates an unhealthy vitamin D deficiency and, in fact, reduces the risk of 16 different kinds of internal cancers.

Dr. Bernard Ackerman has concluded from his study that there is no causal relationship between indoor tanning and melanoma.

sunlightscam

Crazy that links are not permitted for new members.

 

[Adrienne]

I'm glad I don't tan. I did it once and I'll never do it again.

 

[magosienne]

Originally Posted by Ezliving_Jim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Crazy that links are not permitted for new members. welcome to MuT ! we'd like to know you more, that's why we don't enable everything for new members

 

[Dragonfly]

You know, you could parade would be tanners - in beds or in the sun - through a cancer clinic. Have them talk to individuals that have been diagnosed with various skin cancers. And tanners would still lay out in the sun or in a bed.

If it's for vitamin D, take a pill for gosh sakes!

Boggles the mind...

 

[magosienne]

thanks for posting. okay, so the point linking tanning beds and skin cancer is debated. hmm, yeah. well, i have my own opinion, such as better safe than sorry and we know for a fact that has been proven that UV rays are dangerous for the skin (hmm, wonder what are those rays under the tanning beds ?). they cause the cells to age, and they can also penetrate through the heart of your cell, where lies your DNA. if it's altered, an altered cell eventually develops, and we all know where that leads us.

if i can avoid that much by using a sunscreen, i think that coughing up some euros and apply sunscreen as indicated is a must for me, it's so easy to do that i wouldn't understand my own laziness.

also this whole thing about vitamin D, you don't need that much sun exposure to get your dosage. "within about 20 minutes of ultraviolet exposure in light skinned individuals (3–6 times longer for pigmented skin) the concentration of vitamin D precursors produced in the skin reach an equilibrium, and any further vitamin D that is produced is degraded" (quote from the wikipedia's article).

i suppose tannings beds wouldn't be that dangerous if only people knew how to use them properly. honestly i think nowadays everybody desires so much for a tan they just ignore the risks, and i also wonder sometimes if the tanning beds are even secure in terms of how they work. are they checked ? are the people working there really qualified for that job ?

 

[ColdDayInHell]

There was a very sad case of a young woman in Victoria, Australia, Clare Oliver, who died of melanoma just after she turned 26 last September. She started tanning in a solarium at 19 but stopped after the 10th session. At the age of 22, she was diagnosed with melanoma. At that time, she had just received her Bachelor of Media and Communication and a Master of Cinema at the University of Melbourne and was working as a sports journalist.

Then in 2004, the doctors found a tumour under her left armpit which they treated with immunotherapy. The following year, it recurred and she was treated with radiotherapy. After being cancer-free for a year and seven months, she then discovered a lump in her neck and that led doctors to discover seven more tumours in her chest and one in her lung. After that, they stopped counting how many tumors there were.

Clare spent her dying days campaigning against tanning and solariums. Her death prompted a change in legislation to ensure that tanning salons adhered to age limits for clients and insisted on parental consent forms from customers aged between 16 and 18, and also to give health warnings to customers about the risks of using tanning beds.

Source: News.com.au

I would hate to see anyone suffer the same fate.

 

[Dragonfly]

I worked at a Cancer Centre in Southwestern Ontario. Every few weeks someone would be referred to an Oncologist because they had skin cancer.

The last few months I worked there, two young men - both under 25 - passed away from Malignant Melanoma. What is so tragic is neither of these young man had to pass this way. Both developed skin cancer through sun exposure.

 

[Kathy]

I used to tan, and my derm told me it's just as bad as laying in the sun. I don't do either anymore.

 

[Ezliving_Jim]

Thanks for fixing my links.

Lots of sad stories here. One thing that doctors should tell their skin cancer patients is that getting melanoma is not the result of "bad behavior." It is not the fault of the sick cancer patient. They did not get cancer because of something they did. They should not blame themselves.

The fact is, it really isn't known why melanoma hits one person and not another. The number one precursor is genetic. Usually, a skin cancer patient has a family history of skin cancer.

They should also not blame tanning salons (if they ever went to one.) All the anecdotes here, respectfully, are not science. The medical science is clear.

In a new book published in 2007 for the medical community, The Sun and the "Epidemic" of Melanoma: Myth on Myth, by A. Bernard Ackerman, M.D. and Renata Joffe, M.D., a review of melanoma medical studies is done and, without equivocation, the doctors state that there is no causal relationship between tanning beds and Melanoma.

The Sun and the "Epidemic" of Melanoma: Myth on Myth,

Part 2. The Sun and Melanoma.

Section C. Tanning Beds / Sun Lamps. Page 113.

OUR CONCLUSION BASED ON THE EVIDENCE

Data in opposition to the claim that tanning beds/sun lamps are responsible for inducing melanoma are convincing sufficiently that we are forced to infer that such an association has yet to be proved. In short, use of tanning beds has not in itself been demonstrated compellingly to result in melanoma. The examples hyped as being representative are all anecdotal.

Study available at:

derm101 dot com/store/prod_desc.asp?prodtype=1&pdID=1124

I have the first edition (updated 2nd edition is due out in June.)

Some may ask, who is Dr. Ackerman and why should I believe him? I am not going to copy/paste his 93 page curriculum vitae here so, if anyone is interested, reconstruct the link:

derm101 dot com/public/ABA_Curriculum_Vitae.pdf

Suffice to say, Dr Ackerman is a highly respected dermatologist and is a medical authority in this field.

Dr Ackerman is very critical of the AADA and their sunscare propaganda. He calls it propaganda and is very critical of their policy position on tanning and tanning beds because it is unsupported by medical science.

One may ask, why am I here? I was drawn by the video in the original post. The video posted from the Melanoma Foundation is an interesting story, full of anecdote. However, anecdote is not science. The video is sunscare propaganda and I was compelled to respond.

It's is every adult's right to decide for themselves whether or not they want to tan inside or outside. Either way, it is best that tanning is done in moderation. No overexposure (sunburning) or excessive exposure (so-called tanorexia.)

Some may be interested in reading the actual study instead of the characterizations of the study by groups with a confessed bias against indoor tanning. Again, I offer a link that will need to be reconstructed:

sst dot dk/upload/forebyggelse/cff/miljoemedicin/solarier/fulltext_use_of_sunbed.pdf

In the study, you will find these statements:

Quote:
The association with ever-use of such (tanning) equipment, or use morethan 15–20 years prior to diagnosis of melanoma, was weak, and

evidence regarding a dose–response relationship was scant. The

evidence is limited by concerns over characterization of exposure

and recall of exposure by individuals, potential confounding by

sun exposure or other variables and the low power to detect associations

that become evident only following a prolonged lag period

after exposure.

Quote:
No epidemiological study has been able to explore in a rigorousway amounts of UVA and UVB received by indoor tanning users.

Quote:
Relative risk for melanomaThirteen of 19 studies presented positive estimates for ‘‘ever’’

versus ‘‘never’’ exposed to indoor tanning equipment, but only 4

were statistically significant.

15 said "no" and 4 said "maybe."

Quote:
There was some indication for a dose-effect relationship in 2studies, but not in the other two. But metrics used for

assessing duration were all different and therefore did not permit

metaanalytic synthesis. Only 4 studies explored the role of natural

sensitivity to sunlight on risk associated with indoor tanning, and

overall, they found no consistent result.

Quote:
DiscussionInvestigation of the association between indoor tanning and

skin cancers poses challenging problems, as indoor tanning has

been in widespread use only recently. Based on our knowledge

about the relationship between sun exposure and risk for melanoma,

it could be stated that associations after long latency periods,

such as would be expected for melanoma and BCC, may not

be detectable yet. Also, since the fashion of indoor tanning has

been increasing steadily, the failure to distinguish between distant

and recent exposures in most epidemiological studies may mask

an actual increase in risk with exposure early in life.

This study is filled with anecdote and equivocation. It is an excellent example of designing a study to support a desired outcome.
Count the number of times the writers use "might," "could be," "may," "Assuming," "based on," and "statistically significant" vs. "statistically insignificant" in their report.

"The International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group on artificial ultraviolet (UV) light and skin cancer" has always had an institutional bias against the use of the equipment they are called to study. They regularly write biased studies to support their opinions.

I know this is heavy reading for a makeup discussion forum.

It's important to understand relative risks. The riskiest part of indoor tanning is the time spent driving to and from the tanning salon.

The actual risks from moderate exposure to artificial UV light in a tanning bed are "statistically insignificant."