Use Sun Screen, Get Skin Cancer?

This time of year, if you are going to be out in the sun out of necessity of work or recreation, here are cautionary tips to keep you and your skin healthy for life. -Nate Use Sun Screen, Get Skin Cancer? Sunscreens give false sense of security (MSNBC News,) In findings that will be debated from the sunny beaches of Maui to the snowy slopes of Aspen, new research shows that high-SPF sunscreens may have a deleterious effect giving people a false sense of protection and causing them to stay out in the sun longer than they otherwise would. IN A NEW study of vacationers aged 18 to 24, those who sun-worshiped using SPF 30 spent 25 percent more time under the rays than those who used SPF 10. A sunscreen's SPF, or sun-protection factor, indicates its ability to delay sunburn. SPF 30, for example, allows a person to stay in the sun, burn-free, 30-times longer than he or she would using no sunscreen. Sunscreens are promoted as a defense against skin cancer, too. However, a number of studies have linked the use of sunscreen with a rise in skin cancer that has occurred over the past few decades. An analysis of 16 epidemiological studies showed that in many cases, the more sunscreen a person used, the higher the chance he or she developed skin cancer, according to Dr. Marianne Berwick, an epidemiologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Epidemiological studies do not show cause and effect, only an association between two or more factors. This does not mean that using sunscreen raises the risk of skin cancer, she emphasized, just that people who use a lot of sunscreen may have one or more other characteristics that raise their risk. In general, the people most likely to consistently use sunscreen are those who are fair-skinned, for example, Berwick said. Such people, who are normally sun sensitive, may start to feel safe under a layer of lotion, she said, exposing themselves to more sun than they should. Melanoma cases have doubled in 20 years in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Md., melanoma diagnoses rose 2.7 percent each year from 1990 to 1996. THE NEW STUDY In the new study, researchers led by Dr. Phillipe Autier divided the vacationers into two groups: 42 who were given five tubes of SPF 30 sunscreen, and 44 who were given SPF 10. None knew which SPF he or she had received, and the researchers provided no instructions on how to use the sunscreen. While on vacation, each subject kept a diary on sun exposure and sunscreen use. Autier, of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, and colleagues found that while both groups spent about the same amount of time on vacation, the SPF 30 group averaged a total of 72.6 hours in the sun, compared with 58.2 hours in the SPF 10 group. Because the SPF 30 group had greater sun exposure, both groups reported the same number of skin-reddening or sunburn episodes 159. The findings are reported in the August 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Despite the success of sunscreens in reducing skin cancer in animal experiments, they have yet to do the same in the general public, Autier's team noted. In Autier's study, participants used, on average, only 20 percent of the lotion they received. If they had applied the sunscreen properly, the researchers reported, the subjects would have gone through three to four times that amount. According to Berwick, fair-skinned, blue-eyed and light-haired people are at high risk of skin cancer and should minimize your time in the sun. Darker-skinned people, on the other hand, may be able to enjoy their time in the sun with more impunity than previously believed. PROTECTING CHILDREN The best strategy against skin cancer, said Dr. Frank Gasparro of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, is avoidance. But since we can't live in caves, coming out only at night, it's very appealing to put our faith in something that can we can put on our skin. Because childhood sun exposure is the primary risk factor for developing melanoma in adulthood, protecting kids from ultraviolet rays is particularly important, according to Karen Emmons, an associate professor of health and social behavior at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Day camps and child-care centers should provide kids with shaded play areas, she said, and parents should make sure children wear hats and avoid intense sunlight as much as possible. The Medical Tribune News Service contributed to this report. Athlete/Coach Resources... Get Paid To Play Live Online Sports Games Free! The Fat Burning Workout! Burn The Fat and Build Muscle. The Workout Program Everyone Is Talking About. Athletes! 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