Indoor tanning is associated with a 74 percent higher risk of
melanoma, researchers said. And, in a large case-control study,
some forms of indoor tanning machines were associated with a
four-fold increase in the risk of skin cancer, according to
DeAnn Lazovich, of the University of Minnesota, and colleagues.
The risk rose depending on years of use, hours of use, or number
of sessions, Lazovich and colleagues said online in Cancer
Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The finding "provides
strong support" for a recent declaration by the World Health
Organization's cancer research agency that the devices are
carcinogenic, the researchers concluded. "The take-home message
is that indoor tanning is not safe," Lazovich said in a video
prepared by the University of Minnesota. Tanning salons are
increasingly popular in the U.S. and their rise has been
paralleled by increasing incidence of melanoma, the researchers
noted. But evidence that might show a link has been
inconclusive, they said, largely because studies