title: Invited Commentary: Indoor Tanning-A Melanoma Accelerator?
abstract: In this issue of the Journal, Ghiasvand et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2017;185(3):147-156) present results from a longitudinal study of the association between indoor tanning and melanoma in a large cohort of Norwegian women. These new data further support previous findings on the damaging effects of tanning bed exposure on women, particularly young women. The authors present compelling evidence that early exposure to tanning beds advances the date of diagnosis of melanoma by at least 2 years. With a strong design and a large cohort followed for a mean of 13.7 years, this study lends additional support to previous evidence of the negative effects of tanning beds and provides further justification for stronger policy initiatives designed to reduce tanning bed use among young women.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Internal Medicine and Dermatology, School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, MSC10 5550, Albuquerque, NM 87131
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berwick
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon, UMR Inserm U1052 - CNRS U5286, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Doré
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008545:Melanoma; D012878:Skin Neoplasms; D055108:Sunbathing; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
keywords: indoor tanning; melanoma; prospective studies