Sunbeds almost triple melanoma risk - new study finds
Sunbeds almost triple the risk of skin cancer - scientists have discovered exactly how they damage DNA
The use of sunbeds almost triples the risk of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. This is the conclusion reached by scientists from the USA in a study published in the journal Science Advances.
The work is the first to show at a molecular level how artificial UV light from sunbeds causes DNA mutations, making the skin more vulnerable to cancer.
The research has also gained a personal dimension. American Heidi Tarr started using sunbeds regularly as a teenager - it was fashionable and seemed safe. However, at the age of 30, she was diagnosed with melanoma. The disease was detected at an early stage, but since then she has had more than a dozen biopsies.
Today, her 15-year-old daughter sees TikTok videos of the "perfect tan" and asks how to achieve it - and that, Tarr says, is especially troubling.
A nearly threefold increase in risk
A team of dermatologist Pedram Gerami at Northwestern University in Illinois analysed the medical records of about 3,000 people who used sunbeds and compared them to a control group of the same age.
The results showed:
melanoma was diagnosed in 5 per cent of sunbed users;
2% of those who didn't use sunbeds;
after accounting for age, sunburn and heredity, the risk was 2.9 times higher.
In addition, sunbed users were more likely to develop skin cancer in areas usually protected from the sun, such as the lower back and buttocks. This points specifically to the effects of artificial ultraviolet light.
What happens to the skin at the DNA level
To understand the mechanism of damage, the scientists sequenced 182 skin biopsies, including Heidi Tarr's sample. Using new technology, the researchers focused on melanocytes - rare skin cells that form moles and melanoma.
It turned out that:
tanning bed users have almost twice as many DNA mutations;
people in their 30s and 40s who regularly tanned in sunbeds had more mutations than people in their 70s and 80s who didn't use them.
"If the skin has already accumulated half of the critical damage, there's not much left before melanoma," Gerami explained.
Tanning beds are on par with asbestos and smoking
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), more than 80 per cent of melanomas are linked to UV exposure - both sunlight and artificial light. In 2022, melanoma claimed nearly 60,000 lives worldwide.
IARC places sunbeds in the highest category of carcinogenic hazard - on par with smoking and asbestos. In a number of countries, including Australia and Brazil, sunbeds are completely banned. In the UK and France, they cannot be used by anyone under the age of 18. In the US, rules vary from state to state.
"At a minimum, tanning beds should be banned for minors," the study authors emphasise.
A warning for parents and teenagers
Researchers and patients fear that social media and trends for "dream tanning" are shaping a new generation of tanning bed users.
"If you're thinking about tanning beds - or if you're a parent and contemplating whether to let your teenager go there - my advice is one thing: don't use them," says Heidi Tarr.
As an alternative, she recommends self-tanners and sprays, and for those who have already used sunbeds, regular skin examinations and check-ups with a dermatologist.