Sunscreen provides 100% protection against three types of skin cancer and protects the ‘superhero gene' that helps prevent cancer.
It is believed that sunscreen protects you from sunburn, but there has been ongoing academic debate about the effectiveness of sunscreen in preventing skin cancers.
According to a Queensland University of Technology statement, the university conducted the world's first human-based study to study the effects of sunscreen at the molecular level.
The researchers found that sunscreen provided 100 percent protection against all three types of skin cancer, BCC, SCC, and malignant melanoma.
Not only does sunscreen protect against damage that can lead to skin cancer, but it also protects the vital gene p53, said lead researcher Elke Hacker. This is the same gene that helps prevent cancer.
“As soon as our skin is damaged by the sun, p53 kicks in to repair that damage and prevent skin cancer from developing,” Hacker said. But if sunburns are frequent, p53 changes and can no longer repair skin damage caused by the sun. Lack of this protection increases the chances of skin cancer.
According to what he said in an interview with Live Science, “these could have huge ramifications when it comes to discovering strategies to cure these disorders.”
The researchers did point out that there were some problems with the study. For instance, the researchers stated that they were unable to contact the 13 persons identified in the study because they did not have the ability to get agreement from the individuals to do so. This is because the researchers did not have permission to contact the individuals. This indicates that the researchers were unable to conduct in-depth interviews with the individuals, conduct physical examinations of them, or verify the correctness of the genetic information that they obtained from the previously acquired data sets.
According to the findings of the researchers, it is therefore impossible to conclude with absolute certainty whether or not these individuals are actually resistant to these diseases in the absence of other evidence.
However, the researchers stated that they are currently considering carrying out a different study, which will involve participants initially registering to have their genetic information analyzed, and then the researchers will continue to communicate with those participants over a predetermined amount of time.