Survey: Many Melanoma Survivors Report Still Getting Sunburns
According to the results of a recent survey, most survivors of melanoma reported better sun protection behaviors than individuals who were never diagnosed with melanoma, however, a sizable portion of survivors still exhibited behaviors that could lead to a second primary melanoma diagnosis.1
“Survivors of melanoma have a nearly nine-fold risk of developing melanoma again, and they can reduce that risk if they make sun protection a priority,” said lead author Dr Rachel Vogel of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at the University of Minnesota.2
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In their study, researchers used a cross-sectional survey to compare sun exposure and protection measures between 724 long-term melanoma survivors and 660 age- and sex-matched controls recruited from a case-control study. The survey included questions on ultraviolet radiation exposure and sun protection measures from the past year.
Melanoma survivors were significantly less likely to report high sun exposure on a typical weekday [Odds ratio (OR), 0.72 (0.55–0.94)], sunburns [OR, 0.40 (0.30–0.53)], or indoor tanning [OR, 0.20 (0.09–0.44)], and more likely to report optimal sun protection behaviors than controls. However, high sun exposure was similar on a typical weekend day between survivors and controls. In addition, several melanoma survivors reported the use of indoor tanning, 10% of survivors reported sunbathing, and 20% of survivors reported sunburns.
“Although long-term melanoma survivors reported healthier [ultraviolet radiation] exposure and protection behaviors compared with controls, a sizeable proportion still reported elevated sun exposure, sunburns, and suboptimal [ultraviolet radiation] protection behaviors,” the researchers concluded.
—Melissa Weiss
Reference:
1] Vogel RI, Strayer LG, Engelman L, et al. Sun exposure and protection behaviors among long-term melanoma survivors and population controls [published online March 2, 2017]. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-16-0854.
2] While most melanoma survivors limit sun exposure, some report getting suntans and sunburns [press release]. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: AACR; March 2, 2017. http://www.aacr.org/Newsroom/Pages/News-Release-Detail.aspx?ItemID=1008#.WLl7QRIrK1s.