ArticlePigment cell & melanoma research2011
The deceptive nature of UVA tanning versus the modest protective effects of UVB tanning on human skin.
Article in Pigment cell & melanoma research, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
37 citing papers in PubMed, 145 citations in OpenAlex.
- Photobiological implications of melanin photoprotection after UVB-induced tanning of human skin but not UVA-induced tanning.Pigment cell & melanoma research · 2015Trial
- Practices of unregulated tanning facilities in Missouri: implications for statewide legislation.Pediatrics · 2013Trial
- A Dual-Mode Photoconductive Colorimetric Wearable UV-Dosimeter: Strategies for Tunable UV-Band Sensitivity.Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) · 2026Article
- Beyond Melanin: A Literature Review of Photoprotection Mechanisms and Gaps in Skin of Color.Cureus · 2026Review
- Unraveling UVA1-Induced Photomodifications of Eumelanin and Pheomelanin in Human Skin: Insights into Pigment Darkening.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Bioinspired nanoparticles prevent blue-light-induced skin hyperpigmentation via FZD2-TYR-melanin pathway.Materials today. Bio · 2025Article
- PINGing Sunshine: A Review of the Evidence for Adding Non-Filtering Photoprotective Ingredients to Sunscreens.Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine · 2025Review
- Sunscreen Formula of FeO(OH)·HJournal of cosmetic dermatology · 2025Article
- Understanding Mechanisms and Key Factors Influencing Melanogenesis for the Management of Melasma: An Updated Review.Current pharmaceutical biotechnology · 2025Review
- Canadians' knowledge of cancer risk factors and belief in cancer myths.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Ultraviolet and infrared radiation in Australia: assessing the benefits, risks, and optimal exposure guidelines.Frontiers in public health · 2024Review
- Review
- FermentedMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Fingerprinting of skin cells by live cell Raman spectroscopy reveals melanoma cell heterogeneity and cell-type-specific responses to UVR.Experimental dermatology · 2022Article
- The Damaging Effects of Long UVA (UVA1) Rays: A Major Challenge to Preserve Skin Health and Integrity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- The Double-Edged Sword of Oxidative Stress in Skin Damage and Melanoma: From Physiopathology to Therapeutical Approaches.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Review
- Sunscreens and Photoaging: A Review of Current Literature.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2021Review
- Prevalence of tanning equipment use among Canadians.Preventive medicine reports · 2021Article
- Skin pigmentation and its control: From ultraviolet radiation to stem cells.Experimental dermatology · 2021Review
- Novel Transcriptome Study and Detection of Metabolic Variations in UV-B-Treated Date Palm (International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The relationship between human skin pigmentation and protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation is an important element underlying differences in skin carcinogenesis rates. The association between UV damage and the risk of skin cancer is clear, yet a strategic balance in exposure to UV needs to be met. Dark skin is protected from UV-induced DNA damage significantly more than light skin owing to the constitutively higher pigmentation, but an as yet unresolved and important question is what photoprotective benefit, if any, is afforded by facultative pigmentation (i.e. a tan induced by UV exposure). To address that and to compare the effects of various wavelengths of UV, we repetitively exposed human skin to suberythemal doses of UVA and/or UVB over 2 weeks after which a challenge dose of UVA and UVB was given. Although visual skin pigmentation (tanning) elicited by different UV exposure protocols was similar, the melanin content and UV-protective effects against DNA damage in UVB-tanned skin (but not in UVA-tanned skin) were significantly higher. UVA-induced tans seem to result from the photooxidation of existing melanin and its precursors with some redistribution of pigment granules, while UVB stimulates melanocytes to up-regulate melanin synthesis and increases pigmentation coverage, effects that are synergistically stimulated in UVA and UVB-exposed skin. Thus, UVA tanning contributes essentially no photoprotection, although all types of UV-induced tanning result in DNA and cellular damage, which can eventually lead to photocarcinogenesis.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.