Good Sun Exposure Effects Outweigh the Bad Effects

 

His team has discovered for the first time that ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation and visible light are the main factors inducing malignant melanoma, the most severe type of skin cancer. But sunlight is at the same time a major, if not the first, source of vitamin D in humans, transforming precursor fatty molecules into the active vitamin. 

 

The team employed a model using data on sun radiation intensity and a vertical cylinder shape (mimicking the human body's skin surface and more realistic than flat surface exposures employed in previous researches) to assess the amount of synthesized vitamin D, depending on latitude. 

 

"In previous work, we have shown that survival rates for these cancers improve when the diagnosis coincides with the season of maximum sun exposure, indicating a positive role for sun-induced vitamin D in prognosis - or at least that a good vitamin-D status is advantageous when combined with standard cancer therapies. The current data provide a further indication of the beneficial role of sun-induced vitamin D for cancer prognosis. As far as skin cancer goes, we need to be most worried about melanoma, a serious disease with significant mortality", said Setlow.