Cancer Research UK to assess health impact of sun exposure

A new UK study is to be carried out assessing the health benefits and risks associated with spending time exposed to significant amounts of sunlight.

The Cancer Research UK-funded trial will be led by Professor Lesley Rhodes of the University of Manchester and will involve 75 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 45 with a range of skin colours.

They will wear standardised clothing and undergo exposure to simulated sunlight equivalent to that of a summer's day in Manchester, before assessment of blood, urine and skin samples will be carried out.

It is well-established that sunlight is essential in supplying vitamin D to the body, but too much sun can cause DNA damage, making in-depth studies of this kind vital.

Sara Hiom, director of information at Cancer Research UK, said: "Studies like this, which use simulated sunlight so we can compare the results for people with different skin types, will tell us much more precisely how much sun is safe for different people."

Ultraviolet light from the sun and sunbeds is the main cause of melanoma, the most common form of skin cancer, with approximately 10,600 new diagnoses occurring annually in the UK.