A new British study claims that sun protection creams do not help prevent cancer and in some cases even increase the chance of getting skin cancer * Israeli researchers: the study was not conducted using scientific methods and was not published in any journal
Yuval Dror, Haaretz, voila!
A new British study claims that sunscreen creams do not help prevent cancer and in some cases even increase the chance of getting skin cancer. The reason for this, the researchers claim, is due to the fact that most creams filter out ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, while ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation also causes malignant melanoma skin cancer.
The UVB rays usually cause the reddish color of the skin as a result of exposure to the sun and sometimes real burns. Exposure to these rays causes certain types of skin cancer, so many companies have developed over the years creams to protect against these rays. In the past, UVA rays were considered less dangerous, but today it is known that they cause skin aging and are associated with the development of melanoma.
As part of the study, the British researchers exposed samples of skin removed with the patients' consent during surgery to UVA radiation while applying three types of radiation filters to the samples. According to them, while the samples were indeed not burned as a result of the radiation, the radiation filters did not prevent the radiation from penetrating the skin and causing damage to the cells. "We are lulled into a false sense of security," said Prof. Roy Sanders, who conducted the study.
The CEO of the Cancer Society, Miri Ziv, said that there are several sunscreens on the market that also filter UVA radiation. "In any case, we do not recommend using sunscreens as the only line of defense." Dr. Yossi Alkalai, the association's consultant on skin cancer and a surgeon at Assuta Hospital, noted that sunlight alone does not cause melanoma. "There are people who get melanoma cancer who were not exposed to the sun. It seems that the sun's radiation can encourage the development of melanoma, but there is another factor, which is still unclear, that also affects the formation of this cancer."
Every year in Israel, 900 new patients are diagnosed with malignant melanoma, and about ten thousand new patients with other types of skin cancer. The State of Israel ranks second in the world in skin cancer after Australia with an average of about 15 cases per hundred thousand citizens.
Criticism in Israel of British research on skin cancer
Israeli experts yesterday (Monday) criticized the British study that was widely published in media outlets in Britain and Israel stating that sun protection creams do not help prevent cancer - and in some cases even increase the chance of getting skin cancer.
According to Dr. Yossi Alkalai, the consultant of the Cancer Society on skin cancer, who works at Asuta Hospital and is considered an expert in the field of skin cancer, the research makes trivial announcements that are not clear on their scientific basis. "The researchers repeat a well-known fact that there are sunscreens that do not work against type A (UVA) ultraviolet radiation, but only type B (UVB). Because of this, the researchers explain, those who are exposed to the sun, even if they apply sunscreen, are not protected from UVA and therefore this may increase the chance of developing melanoma, and that too, only indirectly."
The British study was published by two researchers who work at RAFT, a British charity-based research organization that deals with plastic medicine. The organization's website posted a press release on behalf of the researchers, however, contrary to what is customary, no scientific research results were published that include a full and detailed description of the research method, the way of the experiment, the number of experiments performed, a scientific analysis of the results and a discussion. In addition, as far as is known, the research was not published in any of the prominent scientific magazines in the UK or in the world.
The CEO of the Cancer Society, Miri Ziv, stated that although most sunscreens on the market protect against UVB, there are also type A sunscreens. "In any case, we do not recommend using sunscreens as the only line of defense," she said. Alkalai, pointed out that solar radiation alone does not cause melanoma. According to him, "There are people who are sick with melanoma type cancer who were not exposed to the sun. Hence, the sun's radiation can encourage the development of melanoma, but there is another factor, the nature of which is still unclear, that also affects the formation of this cancer. In any case, you don't need to be a doctor to understand that exposure to the sun is not healthy."
