We already know that the extra UV exposure from indoor tanning increases your risk of skin cancer. New research now show that melanoma patients who had previously used indoor tanning had a much higher risk of developing a second melanoma and developed that second melanoma sooner than others. Approximately 65% of patients exposed to artificial UV (tanning beds) were diagnosed with a second primary melanoma within 1 year of the first diagnosis, compared with 28% of non-tanners. The median time to diagnosis of second primary melanoma in tanners vs non-tanners was 225 days vs 3.5 years, respectively. So avoid those tanning beds even if they try and tell you its safe, the effects may come back to haunt you years latter.

Article Citation:

Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Second Primary Melanomas: Increased Risk and Decreased Time to Presentation in Patients Exposed to Tanning Beds
J Am Acad Dermatol 2018 Oct 19;[EPub Ahead of Print], Y Li, M Kulkarni, K Trinkaus, LA Cornelius