Getting Sunburn as a Teen Could Increase Cancer Risk by 80%

A new study finds getting serious sunburn five or more times by age 20, increases the risk of deadly skin cancer by 80 per cent.

The study, published by the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, showed teenagers who experienced five or more blistering sunburns before age 20 had an 80 percent higher melanoma risk, as well as a 68 percent increased risk of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

Melanoma is considered the deadliest form of skin cancer, killing almost 9,000 people each year, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. Melanoma is often curable if caught early, but can become fatal if it spreads elsewhere in the body.

The study followed almost 109,000 women- all of them Caucasian registered nurses — for more than 20 years. The women were enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study II when they were between 25 and 42 years old. Before the study, they were asked how many times their skin blistered from sunburn between age 15 and 20, how many moles they had on their legs, and any family history of melanoma. Then, information was collected from them every other year for 20 years.