MELANOMA AND SUNSCREEN USE - NEED FOR STUDIES REPRESENTATIVE OF ACTUAL BEHAVIORS

Experiments in rodents and humans have shown the ability of sunscreens to prevent UVB-induced skin cancers. Sunscreen use has thus become pa rt of the panoply for melanoma prevention. However, results from epide miological investigations indicate that sunscreen use could be a risk rather than a protective factor for melanoma. This article discusses p ossible explanations for discrepancies between experimental and observ ational results, suggesting that experiments did not reproduce usual h uman behaviours towards the sunlight. Also, marketing of sunscreens fo sters unconsidered exposure to sunlight through associating sunscreen use to the acquisition of a 'safe suntan', or to the possibility to le t children go naked into the sunlight without incurring sunburns. It h as therefore been hypothesized that, because it prevents sunburn, suns creen use allows prolonged exposure to sunlight. If this hypothesis ho lds, modern sunscreens with high protection factor could also represen t a threat if their use is motivated by the desire of unrestricted exp osure to sunlight. To explore this hypothesis, the design of a retrosp ective cohort study is presented, including children 5-7 years old, wi th the total body naevi count as principal endpoint. This study will h ave the opportunity to examine the qualities of modern sunscreens amon g young children.