Indoor Tanning Worse Than Sunburns For Melanoma

According to a study presented at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, indoor tanning might be a more reliable predictor of invasive cutaneous melanoma than outdoor sunburns. The new findings are based on the Minnesota Skin Health Study. Researchers examined 1167 cases of melanoma diagnosed from 2004 to 2007 and 1101 control subjects. Four UV risk factors significantly associated with melanoma were identified including: outdoor lifetime sunburns, indoor tanning, frequency of indoor tanning, and burns from indoor tanning. In comparing these, outdoor lifetime sunburns became much less significant than indoor tanning frequency.