New Study Strongly Supports Evidence of Risk for Melanoma with Indoor Tanning

According to a recent study, the duration, starting age, and cumulative number of sessions in a year in indoor tanning beds significantly increased the risk for cutaneous melanoma in women.

Led by Reza Ghiasvand of the Oslo Centre for Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Oslo, researchers used data from the Norwegian Women and Cancer Society to investigate the association between age at initiation of indoor tanning, duration of indoor tanning, and dose-response with melanoma risk in 141,045 women from 1991-2012. The mean follow-up was 13.7 years. Participants included in the study were born between 1943 and 1957 and the mean age was 48 years. Relative risk was estimated using the Poisson regression, and linear regression was used to examine the age a participant first started indoor tanning to age at diagnosis.
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During the study, 861 women were diagnosised with melanoma. Indoor tanning use was reported by 70% of participants and was more common in women born in the younger birth cohort.

The risk for melanoma increased with the cumulative number of tanning sessions and duration of use compared to women who never use tanning beds, and was higher in women who started indoor tanning prior to 30 years of age compared with those who never used tanning beds. In addition, women before the age of 30 who started indoor tanning were 2.2 years younger at diagnosis, on average, than never-users.

Overall, researchers found that the risk of melanoma in women with a cumulative total of more than 30 tanning sessions in 1 year increased to 32%, and women with 480 or more tanning sessions in 1 year increased to 53%, compared to women who never use tanning beds.

“In summary, this large prospective cohort study provides strong supporting evidence on the strength, dose response, and temporality of the association between indoor tanning and melanoma risk. Moreover, our findings support the IARC's conclusion of a higher vulnerability to the harmful effects of indoor tanning before 35 years of age,” the researchers concluded.

—Melissa Weiss

Reference:

Ghiasvand R, Rueegg CS, Weiderpass E, Green AC, Lund E, and Veierød MB. Indoor tanning and melanoma risk: long-term evidence from a prospective population based cohort study [published online January 11, 2017]. American Journal of Epidemiology. doi:10.1093/aje/kww148.