Skin cancer a "time bomb," scientists warn Britons Posted Wednesday, March 31, 2004 by arjuna


Last Updated: 2004-03-30 9:44:20 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - Skin cancer is a potential time bomb for young
Britons, researchers said on Tuesday.

Despite a 24 percent rise in the last five years in cases of melanoma,
the deadliest type skin cancer, most young Britons are ignoring warnings
about sunbathing.

"Seventy percent of young people are still seeking a tan when they go on
holiday," Dr Charlotte Proby, a dermatologist at the charity Cancer
Research UK, told a news conference.

Young skin is particularly vulnerable to the sun's ultraviolet
radiation, which causes skin cancer, but teenagers and adults are not
taking precautions, according to a new survey.

"Unless young people change their habits and learn to protect themselves
properly in the sun we could be heading for a skin cancer time bomb,"
Proby said.

The poll of 1,800 people commissioned by Cancer Research UK revealed
young women are most likely to sunbathe on holiday and more prone to use
low protection sun screens.

Less than 10 percent of people questioned listed checking for changes in
moles and not burning in the sun as preventive measures against the
disease.

Skin cancer is already the third most common form of cancer in 15-24
year olds in Britain after Hodgkin's disease and testicular cancer and
is the fasting increasing of all cancers.

Malignant melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer. It accounts
for roughly 10 percent of reported cases of the illness and can spread
rapidly throughout the body, forming secondary tumours.

Almost 7,000 people in Britain were diagnosed with the disease in 2000
and about 1,700 died. It now kills more people in Britain each year than
in Australia, which has a warmer, sunnier climate.

But Proby said more people are fleeing Britain's unpredictable weather
and taking holidays in Spain, Greece, Portugal and other sunny countries.

Since 1971, the number of Britons holidaying abroad has risen from 4,200
to 27,336 in 1994. A large proportion of new cases of skin cancer is
among 15-39 year olds.

"Skin cancer is a major public health issue and we need to come together
as a society to tackle it," said health minister John Hutton, who
announced a 400,000 pound ($727,000) government increase in funding for
a national campaign to raise awareness about the disease.

Proby advised people to avoid the midday sun, to wear T-shirts, hats and
sunglasses and to use a sunscreen with an SPF (sun protection factor) of
at least 15.

She also said people should never let themselves burn in the sun and
advised parents to protect their children.

"Childhood is the most dangerous time to receive a sunburn," Proby added.