Tanning beds, which have already been accused of facilitating melanoma (a serious malignant skin cancer), also increase the risk of a milder form of skin cancer, especially among young people, according to a new study published on Wednesday.
The most common cancer in humans – cutaneous carcinoma, which affects the outer layer of the skin – generally has a good prognosis for treatment, but its nature and recurrences are still a public health problem. Its frequency is constantly increasing due to longer life expectancy and habits, especially repeated exposure to the sun.
American scientists reviewed the results of a series of studies conducted since 1977. so far on 80,000 people from six countries and found a connection between solariums and two types of skin carcinomas, reported BGNES.
The risk increases by 29% for basal cell carcinoma, most often moles, and develops locally and by 67% for squamous cell carcinoma, which can become invasive and metastasize.
According to researchers from the University of San Francisco, UV exposure before the age of 25 poses the greatest risk.
In the US alone, tanning beds may be the cause of about 170,000 new cases of skin cancer per year.
A study published last July concluded that 5.4% of new melanoma cases diagnosed each year in Western Europe could be linked to the use of tanning booths, especially among young people.
The latest study “provides further compelling evidence that exposure to artificial ultraviolet light plays a role in the three major types of skin cancer,” two Australian researchers reported in an editorial accompanying the study.
“The European Union should follow the example of the United States and introduce a tax on solariums,” said William Simon, a researcher at Northwestern University in Chicago.
UV cabins were classified in 2009. by the World Health Organization as “carcinogenic”.
