A new study says the use of indoor tanning beds poses a higher risk of melanoma than previously believed and that the younger someone starts using them, the higher the risk.

The study also says UVA rays, the "nonburning" radiation, from indoor tanning beds, actually pose as much as 4.4-times the risk of UVB radiation for causing melanoma.

Dr. Lynn Cornelius, chief of dermatology at Siteman Cancer Center, said she was not surprised by the study's findings.

"I didn't bat an eye when I saw that," she said. Her office has been handling more skin cancer, particularly melanoma, and from increasingly younger patients, and indoor tanning beds are often in the picture, she said. "There is no safe tanning bed; it's the cumulative amount that's significant. Starting early gives you more lifetime exposure."

Dr. Mary Noel George, a dermatologist with DePaul Health Center in Bridgeton, agreed. "I don't think any dermatologist was surprised," she said. "We've been seeing an increase in younger patients with melanoma since the '90s."

People used to diagnosed with melanoma in their 50s, 60s, 70s, she said. "But now it's girls in their teens. And tanning beds seem to always be involved."

The study was released today by the American Association for Cancer Research and published in the medical journal, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention.

Cornelius is not calling for a ban on the use of UV-emitting indoor tanning beds. Rather, she says, she and other physicians have appealed to the Legislature — so far to no avail — for Missouri to prohibit the use of tanning beds by anyone under 16.

Missouri has no laws or regulations on tanning beds, although many tanning salons require written parental permission for youngsters 17 and under.

"They ban smoking for (teens) and I don't see this as any different," she said. "In adulthood, people make their decisions about their health."

Still, she said, tanning beds are a danger at any age. At the very least, tanning salons should post warnings the same as are on cigarette packages, she said.

"There should be a posted warning," said George of DePaul Health Center. "The study says that you increase your risk of skin cancer by 75 percent if you start using tanning beds before 30."

The researchers also found:

• The risk of melanoma increased the longer people used them.

• The greater risk of melanoma observed among teens is more likely due to increased tanning time rather than teens being biologically more vulnerable to UV rays.

That's difficult to tell because skin cancer may take years to develop, Cornelius said. "What's clear is that (UVA and UVB) rays are carcinogens and they damage cells and lead to skin cancer."

Studies contradictory, Industry says

The Food and Drug Administration is holding hearings as it considers banning use of indoor tanning beds by teens.

John Overstreet, a spokesman for the Indoor Tanning Association based in Washington, said in a written response to the release of the study, "The latest science is contradictory."

He presented several articles that contradicted the study.

"A study out just two weeks ago from the MD Anderson Cancer Center found that UVA light does not cause melanoma," Overstreet said. "Another study out this week claims that most sunscreens could actually promote the growth of skin cancers because they contain Vitamin A.

"So clearly, lots of studies are reaching far different conclusions."

He also criticized the methods used by the American Association of Cancer Research.

"The researchers averaged a group of people with the highest risk of melanoma (very fair skin and those with moles) with the general population and then concluded the risk applies to everyone," he said. "But it doesn't."

He called for more research before enactment of public policy changes.