New research shows indoor tanning can increase melanoma risk

With the holidays almost upon us, your audience may be headed to their favorite salon to keep their summer tans. However, using tanning beds is putting them at risk for developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

A new article published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology suggests that indoor tanning is the most frequent cause of multiple primary melanomas, which is when a patient develops additional melanomas after their first one. In fact, the research showed that melanoma patients with who use tanning beds more than 10 times have nearly double the risk of having a second or multiple melanomas.

This research adds to the growing body of research on the dangers of indoor tanning, including:

• Indoor tanning equipment emits harmful UVA and UVB radiation. The amount of the radiation produced during indoor tanning is similar to that of the sun, and in some cases might be stronger.
• Using tanning beds before age 20 can increase your chances of developing melanoma by 47%, and the risk increases with each use.

I’d be happy to connect you with Dr. Pedram Gerami, MD, FAAD, one of the authors of the study, who can speak about the study and share alternatives to tanning beds, like using self-tanner.  

For more information about melanoma, visit the American Academy of Dermatology website.

Thanks for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.