Scientists question link between UV exposure and melanoma

TORONTO - A British study released this week is casting a dark shadow of doubt over the widespread belief that any ultraviolet (UV) exposure is linked to increased incidences of melanoma. A September, 2009 British Journal of Dermatology report confirms what The Joint Canadian Tanning Society (JCTA) has maintained for years - there is insufficient proof linking melanoma to UV exposure.

"This study is finally shedding light on the situation. Smear campaigns over the years have made claims that incidences of melanoma have doubled in the past two decades and continue to rise," says Steven Gilroy, JCTA Executive Director. "The report reveals the so-called melanoma epidemic is more scare tactic then scientific fact," he added.

The JCTA supports the facts revealed in the study and the recommendations by Dr. Nick J. Levell and his colleagues from the UK. It is time for a "re-evaluation of the role of ultraviolet radiation and recommendations for protection from it as well as the need for a new direction in the search for the cause of melanoma."

Over the years the JCTA has expressed concern about the politics of anti-UV groups misrepresenting the balanced message about sunlight that a true, independent evaluation of the science now supports. A book by Master Dermatologist Dr. Bernard Ackerman, "The Sun and the Epidemic of Melanoma: Myth on Myth" presented scientific research suggesting indoor tanning and melanoma have no actual causal relationship. Dr. Ackerman claimed "there is no epidemic of melanoma ... and that tanning beds have not been proven to be a cause direct of melanoma."