Using sunscreen as early as in childhood can reduce the risk of melanoma in adulthood, a new study finds.
Childhood is a good time to start inculcating lifestyle habits that can proven to be beneficial in the future. In line with this thought, researchers of a new study found that the risk of melanoma in adulthood can be dramatically reduced by using sunscreen as early as in infancy and childhood.
"While sunscreen is highly effective in preventing sunburn, this paradox has led some to question whether sunscreen is effective in preventing melanoma caused by ultraviolet (UV) light," senior author John L. VandeBerg said in a press statement. "It has been suggested that sunscreen enables people to receive more UV exposure without becoming sunburned, and that increased exposure to UV light has led to an increasing incidence of melanoma."
The study was conducted on a group of opossums, a small marsupial from South America that were treated with an over-the-counter facial lotion containing SPF15 sunscreen. Researchers found pre-melanotic lesions reduced by ten times in opossums that were treated with the sunscreen lotion compared to those that were treated with lotions that didn't contain sunscreen. Pre-melanotic lesions are associated with the progression of melanoma. Researchers also noted a reduction in pre-melanotic lesions even in low UV light exposure.
"Based on these results, we speculate that the reason it is particularly important that sunscreens be used consistently in childhood, and especially in infancy, is because skin cells during growth are dividing much more rapidly than in adulthood, and it is during cell division that the cells are most susceptible to UV-induced damage," said VandeBerg. "Evidence that supports this hypothesis is that melanoma is not induced in adult opossums when their shaved skin is irradiated by UV light in the absence of sunscreen."
The effectiveness of sunscreen in protecting against skin cancer has been questioned many times. Very recently, researchers from The University of Manchester's Cancer Research argued that sunscreen is not enough to keep cancer at bay. Though it significantly lowers levels of DNA damage, it doesn't provide full protection against the disease.
More than 1 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed in the United States every year. One person dies of melanoma every hour, according to statistics revealed by the American Cancer Association. Current estimates are that 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. The incidence of melanoma has been steadily increasing for the past 30 years.
Findings of the current study were published online in the scientific journal Pigment Cell and Melanoma. The research was funded by the Robert J. Kleberg, Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg Foundation.
