Has sunscreen usage decreased skin cancer rates over time?
The National Cancer Institute says that there is currently inadequate scientific evidence to answer this question. However, consumers might be interested to know that two controlled studies comparing sunscreen users with others found that sunscreen reduced the risk of one common form of skin cancer (squamous-cell carcinoma) but not another common form (basal-cell carcinoma). This work provides further support for the generally accepted recommendation for people to use sunscreen but not rely on it exclusively to prevent sun-related harm to the skin (NCI 2007; van der Pols 2006; Green 1999).
