CNN - Sunscreens may not be the best protection

Sunscreens may not be the best protection

June 18, 1996
Web posted at: 1:45 a.m. EDT

From Correspondent Rhonda Rowland

ATLANTA (CNN) -- Sunbathers are getting the message to wear sunscreens -- but although more people are slathering it on, the rate of skin cancer around the world is rising.

Some researchers attending the American Society of Photobiology meeting in Atlanta have a possible explanation. Several preliminary studies suggest that it is possible some sunscreen ingredients may actually damage the body's DNA.

"That could be the first step in ultimately creating something nasty like a tumor," said John Knowland of the University of Oxford.

Knowland did test tube experiments with two ingredients in sunscreen -- a derivative of PABA and titanium dioxide.

"If you have a sunscreen that absorbs the light, then you have to understand that it can't destroy the energy which is absorbed, it has to do something with it," Knowland explained.

But dermatology researcher Lorraine Kligman of the University of Pennsylvania is highly skeptical of the findings.

"The work that Dr. Knowland is doing is very important," she said, "... but we have to remember that it is not in connection with the biological system."

Researchers say the findings should not discourage people from using sunscreens. The public is getting the message about SPF -- or sun protection factor -- which has even showed up on TV sitcoms like "Seinfeld."

But how much SPF is enough? Kligman said the higher, the better. Her studies on mice show it's not enough to block UVB rays, the rays that cause sunburn.

"You will still get damage to connective tissue even without sunburn and you need as high of an SPF as you can get," she said.

Connective tissue damage leads to wrinkles and leathery skin. Most sunscreens protect only against UVB, but a few also protect against UVA.

The one thing researchers agree on is that sunscreen makers and scientists need to work together to produce better, safer sunscreens.

Although sunscreens may not be a panacea, no one is saying they should not be used. But experts recommend a limited time in the sun, and wearing hats a protective clothing.

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Sunscreens may not be the best protection

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