TUESDAY, Dec. 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Tanning bed usage is associated with an increased risk for melanoma and with melanoma on body sites with low cumulative levels of sun damage, according to a study published in the Dec. 12 issue of Science Advances.

Pedram Gerami, M.D., from Northwestern University in Chicago, and colleagues described patterns of melanoma in patients with quantifiable tanning bed usage to better understand the etiology of melanoma associated with tanning bed use. In a subset of these patients, exome sequencing of melanocytes from normal skin was performed. The extent of tanning bed usage was quantifiable for 2,932 patients; they were matched with a randomly selected subset of 2,925 age-matched patients.

The researchers found that the incidence of melanoma was 5.1 and 2.1 percent in the tanning bed cohort and non-tanning bed cohort, respectively; after adjustment for age, sex, family history of melanoma, and sunburn history, tanning bed use was associated with an increased risk for melanoma (odds ratio, 2.85). The likelihood of having melanoma on body sites with low cumulative levels of sun damage and of having multiple melanomas was higher for tanning bed users. Higher mutation burdens and higher proportions of cells with pathogenic mutations were seen for melanomas in skin from tanning bed users; these differences were most pronounced in body sites experiencing comparatively less exposure to natural sunlight.

"In outdoor sun exposure, maybe 20 percent of your skin gets the most damage," Gerami said in a statement. "In tanning bed users, we saw those same dangerous mutations across almost the entire skin surface."

One author disclosed ties to Kenvue.

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