December 15, 2025
Robin Utrecht/Imagn Images/ANP/Sipa USA
Tanning bed users have a higher risk of skin cell mutation and melanoma, a new study said.
Tanning bed usage can cause DNA damage, mutate skin cells beyond ordinary sun exposure and increase the risk of melanoma by nearly three times, according to a Northwestern University study published last week in ScienceAdvances.
The authors of the study said their conclusions "irrefutably" challenge any remaining ambiguity about the dangers of using tanning beds, and they recommend people who have or continue to use them to schedule a full-body skin check with a dermatologist.
Researchers compared medical records of roughly 3,000 tanning bed users with 3,000 patients with no history of tanning bed usage. Melanoma was diagnosed in 5.1% of tanning bed users and 2.1% of non-users. When adjusting for factors like age, sex, family history of cancer and sunburn history, tanning bed use was found to make a melanoma diagnosis 2.85-times more likely.
The skin cancer, which the study said kills an estimated 11,000 people per year in the United States, was also more likely found on body parts like the lower back — areas that would normally be shielded from the sun.
To test if tanning beds were causing broader DNA mutations, researchers sequenced 182 melanocytes, which are pigment-producing skin cells, from three donor groups: those with long histories of tanning, those with no history of tanning but who are similar ages, sexes and family histories, and a control group.
Skin cells from the tanning group carried nearly twice as many DNA mutations and were more likely to contain melanoma-linked mutations. The mutations were also found in body parts normally protected from the sun.
"Even in normal skin from indoor tanning patients, areas where there are no moles, we found DNA changes that are precursor mutations that predispose to melanoma," Pedram Gerami, the study's first author and professor of skin cancer research at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement. "That has never been shown before."
Gerami launched the study after noticing an unusually high number of female patients under the age of 50 had a history with multiple melanomas, which he suspected could be due to frequent use of tanning beds that is becoming increasingly common among younger generations. A survey from the American Academy of Dermatology published in May found that 20% of Gen Z respondents said they would prioritize looking tan over caring for their skin, a sentiment that Gerami cautions against.
"Most of my patients started tanning when they were young, vulnerable and didn't have the same level of knowledge and education they have as adults," he said. "... When you buy a pack of cigarettes, it says this may result in lung cancer. We should have a similar campaign with tanning bed usage."
