Scientists play down possible skin cancer risk of moisturisers

Millions of women who use popular brands of moisturiser should not be alarmed by US research suggesting the product may increase the risk of skin cancer, British dermatologists said yesterday.

Scientists from Rutgers University, New Jersey, exposed hairless mice to ultraviolet radiation to mimic the effect of sunlight. They applied various common brands of moisturiser to the skin of the sunburnt mice and found this increased the production of tumours by 69%, compared with unmoisturised mice.

Writing in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, the team said: "Mouse skin is different from human skin, but the research could help to explain the incidence of some types of skin cancer."

Jonathan Rees, professor of dermatology at Edinburgh University, said it would be "crazy" to stop using moisturisers on the basis of this study. Mice had a thin skin and lived in the dark, unlike humans whose bodies were designed for exposure to the sun.

"Extrapolation between the species for this aspect of biology is simply not warranted. Many agents that cause skin cancer in mice do not do so in man - indeed some of these agents are used as therapies. It seems extraordinarily unlikely that the results have any clinical relevance."

Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists, also warned against reading too much into the results. She said: "If the theory that applying moisturisers increased the risk of non-melanoma skin cancers were correct you would expect to see more of these cancers in women, and on their faces.

"This is not the case, so while the research is interesting, I don't think any conclusions should be drawn from it at this stage, and it should not put people off using skin creams if they wish to do so."

The Rutgers scientists conducted their experiments in an attempt to discover whether adding caffeine to a moisturiser acted as a preventative for cancer. They had not expected to find that the moisturiser base might itself encourage the growth of tumours.

In an experiment lasting 17 weeks, the scientists tested four brands of moisturiser: Dermabase, Dermovan, Eucerin and Vanicream.

The skin cancers developed by the mice were of a type that is common among humans, but is treatable and rarely fatal. The team concluded: "Further studies are needed."