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Another Duel in the Sun: Weighing the Balances Between Sun Protection, Tanning Beds, and Malignant Melanoma

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: djrobe08{at}louisville.edu.

	Abstract

Objective. The purpose of this report is to put the dueling factors of risk and prevention for melanoma in perspective for the thoughtful pediatric specialist to facilitate preteen preventive health counseling. Study Design. We examined the rate of malignant melanoma among Kentucky residents and compared this rate with indicators of tanning bed prevalence in a large metropolitan area and sunscreen sales from a major distributor. We obtained malignant melanoma annual incidence data from the Kentucky Cancer Registry, which recorded Kentucky population incidence rates over the years 1995 to 2004. The rates reflected 2 malignant melanoma classifications: preinvasive cancer only, or both invasive and noninvasive cancers combined. Results. The age-adjusted incidence rate per hundred thousand for combined invasive and preinvasive malignant melanoma swelled from 21.9 in 1995 to 31.3 in 2004. The respective invasiveonly malignant melanoma incidence rates increased less dramatically, from 17.3 to 20.7, during this same 10year time period. Since 1983, the number of separate tanning bed businesses increased from 1 in 1983 to 119 by the mid1990s, and then declined to about 74 separate businesses by 2003. Sunscreen sales data is uneven between states and is currently inconclusive. Conclusions. Although current data cannot draw a precise link between melanoma and the use of tanning beds, the associated risk is implicit, as the ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation in tanning bed usage is a wellestablished melanoma risk factor. In advising patients, the pediatric specialist should consider that melanoma rates are poised as a balance of some known risk factors and a few potential preventive factors.

First published on March 12, 2009, doi:10.1177/0009922809332589

Clinical Pediatrics 2009;48:614.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2009


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