Just one more reason
to slather on sunscreen before stepping outside (as if you needed another): A
new study from Ohio University
Comprehensive Cancer Center has found that applying sunscreen with SPF 30
reduces the risk of melanoma — the deadliest form of skin cancer — by 80
percent.
In the study, the
researchers applied different sunscreens with SPF 30 on mice and then tested
them out by exposing them to UVB rays — the ones behind painful sunburns. The
researchers found that all of the SPF 30 sunscreens that were tested not only
protected the mice from getting sunburned, which you might expect, but also
from developing melanoma, according to Christin Burd, PhD, an assistant
professor in Department of Molecular Genetics, and the Department of Molecular
Virology, Immunology, and Medical Genetics at the Ohio State University
Comprehensive Cancer Center — Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J.
Solove Research Institute.
That’s not just good
news for the mice in the study, but also for anyone who is at risk of melanoma
(hint: that’s everyone, to some degree). “This is a remarkable accomplishment,”
Burd told Science Daily.com. “We hope that this model will lead to breakthroughs in
melanoma prevention.“
Melanoma kills more
than 10,000 people in the United States each year, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Research shows that the
overall lifetime risk of developing melanoma goes up to 80 percent after
getting just five blistering sunburns in childhood. But it’s never too late to
start protecting your skin from the sun. Along with applying a shot-glass worth
(1 oz.) of broad-spectrum sunscreen with SPF 30 (no need to go any higher) from
head to toe, stay in the shade whenever possible or slip on a broad-brimmed hat
and UV-blocking sunglasses for added sun protection.
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