Tanning Bed Access Linked to Higher Rates of Skin Cancer in Specific US Regions

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New findings suggest the incidence rate of melanoma lowers for each additional minute of travel time to the closest facility with tanning bed access within a 30-minute radius, indicating an association between access to tanning beds and melanoma.¹

These findings were the result of new research into a link between melanoma rates and tanning bed facility access. Despite the fact that melanoma accounts for only 1% of skin cancers within the US, it results in the largest number of skin cancer deaths.

In fact, melanoma rates have been climbing in the US over the last 2 decades, with incidence growing by approximately 1% each year among women, though it has recently stabilized among men. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure is known to be a primary risk factor that can be diminished if it comes from artificial sources such as tanning beds.

“Melanoma is one of the relatively few human cancers for which a common, preventable cause is well documented: UV radiation,” David E. Fisher, MD, PhD, director of the Melanoma Program at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Cutaneous Biology Research Center, said in a statement. “This study helps clarify the linkage between tanning beds and melanoma and helps us focus on how policies aimed at limiting tanning bed use may hopefully further diminish melanoma risk.”²

Trial Design

A geospatial analysis by the research team was carried out to assess the link between rates of melanoma and access to facilities with tanning beds, all of which were located across counties in New England, in the timeframe between 2014 - 2018. Data on incidence of melanoma was implemented along with the tanning bed locations and different types of geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic data.

The team’s data was drawn from various sources such as Data Axle, the National Cancer Institute State Cancer Profiles, the American Community Survey, and the US Geological Survey.

The latest data regarding county-level age-adjusted melanoma incidence at the time of the investigators’ analysis were gathered through the the National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Profiles website. The research team decided upon the New England region given the completeness of the area’s data, looking at Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut.

The business database of Data Axle was used to identify facilities for the study, and manual reconfirmation of each business’s use of tanning bed services was done using Google Search. The team also collected from the American Community Survey 5-year data set of SES and demographic covariates at the census tract and county levels.

The investigators assessed any confounding variables from the underlying population density and composition and transportation infrastructure through the measuring of travel time to the closest facility for tanning. A subject’s access to tanning facilities was determined to be the average travel time to the business with a 30-minute buffer.

Notable Findings

An evident association was reported by the research team between higher melanoma rates and availability increases of tanning bed facilities found in the New England region. In fact, the team pointed to 6 high-risk clusters, 7 low-risk clusters, and a single outlier in incidence of melanoma.

For each additional minute of subjects’ travel time to the closest facility with tanning bed access within a 30-minute radius, the investigators’ spatial regression analysis showed that the incidence rate of skin cancer lowered by 3.46% within the same county.

The same analysis indicated that melanoma rates dropped by 1.92% across New England for each additional minute. Such conclusions were noted as indicating that in regions with high access, rates of melanoma tended to appear higher.

New Hampshire and Vermont, specifically, were found by the research team to have the highest rates of melanoma compared to other states in the New England area. In terms of data at the county level, it was reported that Grand Isle county in Vermont was the county with the highest rate of incidence in the region.

“Although we anticipated finding a connection between tanning beds and melanoma, the strength of the association was more pronounced than expected,” lead investigator Oliver Wisco, DO, associate professor of dermatology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, said in a statement. “Our findings add to the growing body of evidence linking tanning bed usage to increased melanoma risk. These results provide critical insights to inform public health strategies aimed at reducing tanning bed use and ultimately, melanoma incidence.”^1,2

References

1. ^{Wei G, Tran M, Wisco O, et al. A Geospatial Analysis of the Association between Access to Tanning Bed Facilities and Melanoma in the United States New England Region. Journal of Investigative Dermatology. November 7, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jid.2024.04.038.}
2. ^{Tanning bed access and usage is driving higher rates of melanoma in specific regions. Elsevier. November 7, 2024. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1063236?.}