USPSTF endorses behavioral counseling to prevent skin cancer

Source: Healio, April 2018

Clinicians should counsel children, their parents and young adults on the use of sun protective behaviors for the prevention of skin cancer, according to a final recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
The task force recommends that clinicians provide counseling to help reduce the risk for skin cancer among individuals aged 6 months to 24 years with a fair skin type, including parents of young children with a fair skin type (B recommendation). For adults aged 24 years and older with a fair skin type, clinicians should consider the individual’s risks for the disease when deciding to provide counseling (C recommendation)..
“Significant exposure to UV rays during childhood and adolescence increases the risk for skin cancer later in life, especially if someone has had repeated sunburns. We found that clinicians can effectively counsel people to better protect themselves from the sun which, in turn, helps reduce the likelihood of skin cancer,” John W. Epling Jr., MD, MSEd, professor of family and community medicine at Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, told HemOnc Today.