Tanning beds increase melanoma risk

Tanning beds increase melanoma risk:

Indoor tanning beds greatly increase the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer and the risk increases over time, U.S. researchers said on Thursday, and other experts for tighter regulation. She said people who use any type of tanning bed for an amount of time, 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma, and frequent users are 2.5 to 3 times more likely to skin cancer than people who never use to develop. The study confirms previous research linking indoor tanning with melanoma, and answers any questions lingering about whether the practice is safe, or where the risk depends on the type used in tanning beds. "We found that it was not the kind of thing used tanning equipment, there was no safe tanning device," said Deanne Lazovich of the University of Minnesota, whose study appears in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. Studies had suggested young people were at greater risk, but said Lazovich the risk increases with the frequency of use, regardless of age, gender or the device. "The increased risks we reported, the risks associated with indoor tanning above and beyond all other known risk factors for melanoma," said in a telephone briefing Lazovich. Stricter regulations Dr. Allan Halpern, chief of dermatology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, told the briefing that melanoma cases are on the rise in the United States and the findings strengthen the case for regulation of sunbeds. He said the World Health Organization classifies all tanning as carcinogenic to humans, but in the United States, tanning beds are considered a Class 1 medical device - which is the equivalent of tongue depressors, "he said. The FDA is reviewing the classification and the agency on Wednesday released a video saying the use of an ultraviolet or UV-emitting device for the purpose of tanning should be avoided. "I'm hopeful that will be very useful in the hands of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to move forward to regulate this sector," said Halpern, who was not involved in the investigation. For the study, Lazovich and colleagues studied 1167 people diagnosed with melanoma and compared them with 1101 people without melanoma. The team asked people what type they had used tanning bed - that UVA radiation or UVB radiation. They found that melanoma risk was approximately three times greater among people who had used tanning beds that UVB rays and 4.4 times greater for UV-emitting devices to emit. They also found that the risk increased with usage. They defined heavy use as people who tan indoors for more than 50 hours, or more than 100 sessions, or more than 10 years. "Most reports were unable to adapt to sun exposure, confirming a dose-response, or examines specific solar equipment," said Lazovich. "Our population-based case-control study was conducted to address these constraints." Melanoma accounts for approximately 3 percent of skin cancer caused most cases, but skin cancer deaths, and doctors have few effective treatments to offer once the disease has spread. According to the American Cancer Society, 68,000 people were diagnosed with melanoma in 2009 and died 8650.