Skin Cancers

Regular use of SPF 15+ sunscreen may prevent the development of melanoma in adults, results of a community-based study indicate. The study is the first prospective, randomized study of the relationship between sunscreen use and melanoma.
 
Adèle Green and her colleagues of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Australia, randomized 1621 white adults (25 to 75 years of age) living in a township in Queensland to daily or discretionary sunscreen application to head and arms; the broad-spectrum sunscreen used had a SPF of 16.
When choosing a day cream, patients may not realize that many products do not provide adequate protection against long-range UV-A1 rays, something nurse education can help remedy. A new study of 29 popular facial moisturizers finds that, although labeling suggests broad-spectrum UV coverage, only 23 products contained active ingredients with UV-A1 protection, some in low concentrations (Arch Dermatol. Epub January 17, 2011).