Sunbeds warning as cancer rate soars

Feb 11 2008 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

MERSEYSIDE’S obsession with the sunbed is to blame for the dramatic increase in the number of cases of skin cancer being recorded in the region, a senior cancer surgeon has warned.

The number of people being treated for melanoma – the most dangerous form of skin cancer – in Merseyside has rocketed 66% in the last six years, while in Liverpool the figure has risen 94%.

That compares with a national rise of just 46%.

Now schools are turning to shock tactics to try and get the message home about how dangerous sunbeds can be, with some teenagers beginning to develop wrinkles at 16 years old.

Chris Holcombe, lead clinician in cancer at the Royal Liverpool Hospital, which treats skin cancer, last night blamed the continued use of sunbeds for the rise.

But he stopped short of backing national calls for sunbeds to be banned – saying people using sunbeds would respond better to more access to information.

He said: “The continued use of sunbeds, particularly by young people, is one of the main reasons we are seeing such an increase here. We need to find a way to get the message out there that the risk of skin cancer from using sunbeds is a very real one.

“Saying ‘ban them’ would not win over the people who are using them. Instead, we need to make sure they know the risks, and what harm can be done by using sunbeds. When presented with the facts like that, I’m sure many people would actually stop using them.”

In 1997, thirty-six people a year were treated for skin cancer in Liverpool.

That figure now stands at 70 a year, and is expected to rise even more sharply in years to come.

Across Merseyside, including Liverpool, 334 people a year are now treated for melanoma skin cancer, up from 222 in 1997 – a rise of 60%.

Other areas experiencing high increases include West Cheshire – up from 11 to 42 – and West Lancashire, whose Primary Care Trust area of Central Lancashire saw an increase from 51 to 73.

Dr Sandra Winhoven, a consultant dermatologist from St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “The number of cases of melanoma – the most dangerous form of skin cancer – has almost tripled since the early 1980s and research shows figures are set to treble again in the next 30 years unless we radically change our behaviour.

“The fact is the majority of these cases could be prevented.”

The use of sunbeds has risen by more than a third in the last decade. Four out of five booths emit ultraviolet radiation at levels above European and British standards, UK research showed in July, with the average unit carrying the same risk as midday Mediterranean sun.

Archbishop Beck High School is one of a growing number of schools in the area to start talking about the dangers of sunbeds.

They brought in experts who used a specialist skin scanner which showed the damage repeated exposure to sunbeds was having.

The machine can show how wrinkles in the skin are forming in youngsters as young as 16 years old.

Sheila McAlister, deputy head, said: “A lot of pupils would come in burnt from sunbeds and we thought by inviting in an expert to talk to them about the dangers we could show them how much damage it can cause.”

Pat Higgins, director of the Merseyside and Cheshire cancer network, said: “Skin cancer is a classic example of a cancer which can, in many ways be prevented by not taking certain actions.

“That includes not using sunbeds, and the Government, as part of its cancer strategy, is now looking at the possibility of banning their use.”

A spokesman for the Department of Health said that the use of sunbeds will be reviewed as part of its cancer strategy.

davidhiggerson@dailypost.co.uk