Tanning beds and cancer linked in a new study

A new study has added further evidence that links tanning beds with skin cancer.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that those who used the beds were more likely to develop two types of non-melanoma skin cancer, basal (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

According to Medpage Today, the meta-analysis used data from 12 studies, which had previously measured indoor tanning exposure of 80,661 people over several decades.

Of those people they found a total 9,328 cases of BCC or SCC.

Though non-melanoma cancer is rarely deadly, it does increase the risk of a number of diseases.

A study sub-analysis looking at those under 25 showed that risk of the cancers increased a few percentage points even after the first use of the tanning bed.

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Those who used the beds at high doses – a term the study does not define – were 50 percent more likely to develop BCC, said WebMd.

The finding led researchers to speculate that tanning bed-use is critical in one's early life that may later have negative side-effects.

Yet, the study had numerous drawbacks including using old data during a time when tanning beds were different and its reliance on studies using varying definitions, said Medpage Today.

GlobalPost has already reported on the negative consequences of suntanning beds.

Researchers in Texas found that tanning beds can become an addiction like smoking or caffeine if used regularly.

The new findings were published in the British Medical Journal.