WEDNESDAY, Dec. 11, 2024  -- Indoor tanning exposure is not associated with tumor mutational burden (TMB) in cutaneous melanoma, according to a study published online Dec. 11 in JAMA Dermatology.

Grace B. Hanrahan, from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues examined the association between cutaneous melanoma TMB and indoor tanning exposure in a retrospective cohort study. Inverse probability of treatment-weighted, multivariable modeling was used to model the association of tanning bed use with TMB.

The researchers observed no association between indoor tanning exposure and TMB among 617 patients after adjustment for demographic, tumor, and dermatologic characteristics. However, higher TMB was significantly associated with older age at diagnosis, history of nonmelanoma skin cancer, and head and neck tumors relative to other primary sites. In patients with a history of abnormal nevi, average TMB was significantly lower.

"This cohort study with adjustment for demographics, tumor characteristics and skin risk factors did not show an association between indoor tanning and melanoma TMB despite the known association between indoor tanning and melanoma risk," the authors write. "This suggests that cumulative lifetime sun exposure may be a greater primary driver of TMB than intermittent radiation during indoor tanning."