Marathon Runners Face Skin Cancer Risk

The men's winner of the 13th annual Philadelphia Marathon Hosea Kimutai of Kenya crosses the finish line on the Ben Franklin Parkway, Sunday Nov. 19, 2006, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower) (Bradley C Bower - AP)

He finds hope in a growing awareness of the sun's danger at races, with volunteers offering to quickly apply sunscreen on athletes, who hate to lose precious seconds from their finish times, Phillips said.

Running clothing made of new fabrics that screen harmful ultraviolet rays also can help, but most runners race with lots of skin exposed.

"Sometimes your training clothing covers different areas than your race clothing," Phillips said. "You may train in a regular shirt, but for the race you put your singlet on," leaving shoulders, covered during training, exposed and more likely to a burn. "And for a triathlon, you're doing the whole thing in a bathing suit."

In their report, the researchers cite other studies that have shown suppressed immunity in endurance athletes, caused by repeated tissue damage. Weakened immune systems could leave the marathoners more vulnerable to skin cancer, they speculate.

However, other experts like David Nieman of Appalachian State University, who has documented suppressed immunity in marathon runners, says that link is just a guess at this point.

"There's just no data to indicate there's a relationship between the immune changes that occur and cancer risk," Nieman said.

Nieman said some marathon runners take pride in bronzed, leathery skin _ proof that they put in their training miles.

"If someone shows up at a race and they're lily white, I've seen other runners make fun of those guys," he said.

___

On the Net:

Archives of Dermatology: http://archderm.ama-assn.org/