Antioxidant Effects on Skin Cancer
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Can Antioxidants Prevent Skin Cancer?
Antioxidants are promoted for many uses, including everything from general health to anti-aging benefits. But, what about skin cancer? It’s a legitimate question; basal cell carcinoma, a skin cancer, is the most common form of cancer, affecting over one million people each year in the US alone. Similarly, melanoma, a less common form of skin cancer, can be one of the most lethal types of cancer.
Sun-caused ultraviolet damage is the leading cause of skin cancer. The American Cancer Society states that, “Many of the more than 1 million skin cancers diagnosed each year could be prevented with protection from the sun’s rays.” When excessive (more than 15 minutes) or cumulative unprotected sun exposure occurs, the sun’s UV rays damage the DNA within the skin. The body will try to repair the damage before mutation occurs and cancer develops. However, sometimes a person’s body is unable to repair the UV damage, which results in visible signs of damage, such as sun spots, wrinkles and loss of elasticity, as well as skin cancer.
Sunscreen and protective clothing, such as hats, go a long way in preventing sun damage and therefore skin cancer. But, what if we could add antioxidants to our arsenal? Many studies found that antioxidant foods and antioxidant skin care products would certainly help protect the skin against cancer-inducing damage.
To know if antioxidants are a worthwhile method for preventing, and even treating, skin cancer, we first have to understand how skin cancer is formed. Thymine is a base pair that forms some of the blocks in the double-helix of everyone’s DNA. Ultraviolet radiation binds thymines together to form thymine dimers. When thymine dimers occur, the body splits them up again with a cellular process. However, when the thymine dimers get split up, there’s a chance for mutation, which can become cancerous.
Research into the effects of antioxidant vitamins on sun damage has shown that vitamins C and E can drastically reduce the severity of sunburn, which, in turn, reduces the number of thymine dimers created. With less thymine dimers around, there’s a smaller chance of cancerous mutation occurring.
So far, there’s only been one topical antioxidant product clinically proven to reduce the incidence of thymine dimers. Based on five years of extensive research, Phloretin CF by SkinCeuticals protects against free radicals and other mutation-causing molecules while also repairing damage by stimulating protein and fiber synthesis and boosting skin cell turnover. Although Phloretin CF is the only skin care product clinically proven to have a direct result on thymine dimers, it’s certainly not the only one. Products containing proper concentrations of stabilized vitamins C and E will offer wonderful antioxidant protection against the environmental damage that can lead to thymine dimers and other forms of damage.