Lancet sunscreen study
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
UCal researchers claim use of daily sunscreen is not a "cost-effective public-health measure" in a letter in the Dec. 18/25, 1999 issue of The Lancet. Jeffrey Linder and Jeffrey Tice, Division of General Internal Medicine, University of California at San Francisco, argue that in regions with lower incidences of squamous cell carcinomas - the U.S., for example - daily use of sunscreen by all adults would cost more than full treatment of all cases of SCC. The UCal researchers agree, however, that sunscreen use "during times of high exposure is crucial." The researchers respond to a study published in the Sept. 13 Lancet by Adele Green, Queensland Institute of Medical Research, et al. on use of sunscreen to prevent cutaneous SCC in Australian adults ("The Rose Sheet" Sept. 13, 1999, p. 9)