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New Sunscreen Ingredient May Help Prevent Cancer

Posted on: Monday, 11 September 2006, 15:00 CDT

People with sunburn may soon benefit from a new sunscreen ingredient that repairs sunburned skin and helps prevent skin cancer, says a British study.

The new ingredient is light-responsive and only becomes active when it is exposed to ultraviolet radiation in sunlight, avoiding any side effects that might result from long-term exposure to the active form of the drug, according to Dr. Charareh Pourzand of the University of Bath, who is working in collaboration with Dr. James Dowden of Nottingham University.

The researchers are currently testing prototypes of the ingredient in the laboratory using three-dimensional human skin cultures but expect to use the ingredient with volunteers in the next two to three years.

When skin is exposed to high doses of sunlight, such as when you are sunbathing, a massive amount of free iron is released in skin cells, said Pourzand.

This free iron can act as catalysts for the generation of more harmful free radicals that cause severe cell damage -- many forms of cancer are thought to be the result of reactions between free radicals and DNA, causing mutations that can disrupt the cell cycle and potentially lead to cancer.

The findings are published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Source: United Press International

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