Loading...
Dermatologists routinely recommend sunscreen for protection against nonmelanoma skin cancers, but little evidence supports this recommendation. In one of the few studies to address this important issue (see Lancet 1999; 354:723 and 1038), researchers found that daily sunscreen use over a 4.5-year period produced a 35% reduction in the incidence of squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) but had no effect on the incidence of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs). The researchers continued to follow the participants after the study ended to determine whether the treatment regimen would have a lasting effect on SCCs and whether there might be a late effect on BCC occurrence.
In the original study, 1621 subjects from Queensland, Australia, were randomized to one…