Indoor Tanning Tied to Increased Risk of Common Type of Skin Cancer

Using indoor tanning might increase risk of skin certain skin cancers early in life, new study suggests.

According to researchers, people who frequent tanning booths to get that perfect tan are increasing risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, which is a common type of skin cancer in the U.S. BCC is a slow growing type of skin cancer and rarely kills its victims.

The study found that people who use tanning booths during early adulthood years are more likely to develop BCC by age 50.

Indoor tanning procedures expose users to 10 to 15 times as much UV radiation as the midday sun, a press release from the American Academy of Pediatrics said.  

The research findings "underscore the importance of counseling adolescents and young adults about the risks of indoor tanning, and for discouraging parents from consenting minors to this practice," the researchers, from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, wrote in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics, according to Livescience.

For the study, researchers looked at information from 657 patients with newly diagnosed cases of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and 452 control subjects. All the participants were around 50 years of age or younger and were part of the New Hampshire Skin Cancer Study. Particpants had provided information about the type of indoor tanning system that they had used, such as sunlamps, tanning beds, or booths. They were also asked about the amount of time that they had spent playing outside during childhood years.

Researchers found that people with an early diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma were more likely than others to get a sun burn rather than a suntan. Also, a higher number of cancer patients said that they used indoor tanning methods when compared to the control group.

Tanning beds, lamps and booths are associated with an increased risk of not only deadly skin cancer, but also cancers of the eye. However, teens continue to use indoor tanning methods to get that perfect tan.