Posts on social media have popped up recently, claiming that applying sunscreen reportedly increases the risk of skin cancer. Even though ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main cause of melanomas, and sunscreen helps protect skin by filtering UV rays, these posts claim that sunscreen itself is doing damage.
Claim: "It is an indisputable fact that the countries that use the most sunscreen, have the highest incidence of skin cancer," said this X userin a post with close to 60,000 followers. "And the more sunscreen they use, the greater the prevalence." There are also TikTok videoswarning about sunscreen.
DW Fact check: False
"There is no scientific evidence that supports the association of sunscreen use with a higher risk of cancer," Brittany Schaefer, Public Information Officer with the Connecticut State Department of Public Healthtold DW.
The X post attributed the chart to the Connecticut Tumor Registry (CTR), but Schaefer says that was inaccurate.
"The original cancer incidence data likely came from the CT Tumor Registry decades ago, but not the added text boxes regarding sunscreens. We do not know the source of the actual graphic, but it was not from CTR or the Connecticut Department of Public Health," she said.
More sunscreen, more melanoma cases?
But why is the number of global skin cancer cases on the rise, even though more and more people are using sunscreen? A study across several countries from December 2023involving scientists from the US, Switzerland, Germany and Hungary looked at five hypotheses to get to the bottom of this.
According to the study, possible reasons for misunderstandings and myths around linking skin cancer risk and sun protection include access to better diagnostics and treatment methods, outdated scientific studies, erratic use of sunscreen and climate change.
Global incidence rates: Australia in the lead
Rising awareness about skin cancer risks among both patients and doctors has led to an increase in reporting and documenting cases. In contrast to higher skin cancer incidence worldwide, the mortality rate has dropped due to better treatment options, says the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer.
According to the World Cancer Research Fund, Australia had the highest age-standardized incidence rate of new cases in 2022: 37 new skin cancer cases per 100,000 people per year, followed by Denmark (31.1), Norway (30.6), New Zealand (29.8) and Sweden (27.4).
The US ranked first with 101,388 cases in terms of the total number of skin cancer cases in 2022, while Germany ranked second with 21,976 skin cancer cases, with an identical incidence rate of 16.5.
In terms of the number of skin cancer deaths in 2022, the US again took the lead with 7,368 deaths, while Germany ranked fourth with 3,303 cases, behind China and Russia. The following graph also shows that a high incidence rate of skin cancer does not necessarily correspond to a higher mortality rate.
Outdated studies and more time spent in the sun
Another reason for rising skin cancer rates could also be the fact that people spend more time outside in the sun. Even if they applied sunscreen, that was no guarantee that they used it as intended to protect their skin.
The lack of current scientific studies further adds to the problem of reinforcing outdated narratives. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) only began regulating sunscreen in 2011. All prior studies examining sunscreen use and the development of melanoma were likely conducted with products that did not offer the same level of protection as those currently on the market.
Sunscreen as a lucrative market
But are people in countries with the highest rates of skin cancer cases such as New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Canada and the US really using more sunscreen, as users on social media have claimed?
It is true that the global sale of sunscreen is on the rise. And according to the sunscreen industry, the revenue of global sun protection skin care is projected to reach about $13.553 million (€11.594 million) by 2028. The biggest markets are the US, followed by China and South Korea.
And then there's the question of how people are using sunscreen. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 38% of people aged 15 years and over said they used SPF30 or higher on most days in the last month.
However, 7% said they had experienced sunburn in the last week. Young people aged 15–24 years were more likely to experience sunburn in the last week (about 15%).
Sunscreen is often only used on vacation
A poll in the US by Talker Research, published in May of this year, found that less than half (41%) of the 2,000 adults polled said they wear sunscreen more than 60 days of the year. And 13% said they typically don't wear sunscreen at all.
In Germany, about half of the people asked in an online poll from August 2024 said they would only use sunscreen in summer or when being directly in the sun.
Sybille Kohlstädt, spokesperson for the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), warns against false conclusions due to a lack of valid data regarding sun protection.
"In contrast to existing data on the growing global prevalence of skin cancer, there are no country-specific statistics that break down sunscreen use and relate it to skin cancer prevalence."
