Bottom Line: Skin cancer screening is underused by indoor tanners.
Why The Research Is Interesting: About 5 million skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the United States. Millions of Americans who have tanned indoors are at higher risk of melanoma and keratinocyte skin cancers than the general population. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends indoor tanners be screened regularly for skin cancer.
Who and When: 30,352 U.S. adults who participated in the 2015 National Health Interview Study
What (Study Measures): Indoor tanning as well as sociodemographic, health care, and skin cancer risk and sun protection factors (exposures); self-reported full-body skin cancer screening by a physician (primary outcome)
How (Study Design): Analysis of national survey data
Authors: Carolyn J. Heckman, Ph.D., Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, and coauthors
Study Limitations: The order of occurrence of behaviors, such as indoor tanning, sunless tanning and skin cancer screening was not explored.
Related Material: The editorial, "Indoor Tanners as a Priority Population for Skin Cancer Screening," by Mary K. Tripp, Ph.D., M.P.H., of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, also is available on the For The Media website.
For more details and to read the full study, please visit the For The Media website.
(doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.0163)
Editor's Note: The article contains conflict of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, funding and support, etc. To place an electronic embedded link in your story: Link will be live at the embargo time http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/10.1001/jamadermatol.2018.0163
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Journal
JAMA Dermatology