Who, why, where: an overview of determinants of sunbed use in Europe

Although exposure to indoor tanning has been established as a clear risk factor for skin cancer, sunbeds are still commonly used in Europe. Understanding the determinants of sunbed use in Europe is key to plan educational interventions, behavioural strategies and legislative measures, which should be tailored to subgroups with different risk profiles. Evidences show that the typical sunbed users in Europe are young-adult women, with intermediate skin type, a current employment and a medium/high socio-economic status. Typical users display sun-seeking behaviours and other risky behaviours such as smoking. Indoor tanning seems more common in northern than southern Europe. However, sunbed use remains common in fair-skinned individuals and among adolescents/pre-adolescents. Commonly reported reasons for sunbed use in Europe include aesthetic motives (i.e. looking attractive), the pursue of a prevacation tan, the influence of peers/parents engaging in the same habit, and the treatment of health conditions. The most commonly reported places to get an artificial tan in Europe are tanning studios and beauty salons. However, sunbeds are also available in sport venues, such as swimming pools and gyms, hotels and private houses. All these factors should be taken into account when planning educational, behavioural and legislative interventions to reduce the popularity of artificial tanning in Europe.

[New therapeutic approaches for hidradenitis suppurativa]

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic cutaneous disease with a prevalence ranging between 0.05 % and 4 % in the general population. The clinical presentation features painful, inflammatory nodules on the apocrine gland- bearing body regions, evolving later on in fluctuant abscesses, fistulas and hypertrophic scars. HS represents a significant burden for the patients, severely limiting their quality of life. The disease is still relatively unknown by physicians, the time-to-diagnose can be extremely long and the therapeutic measures available are currently limited. In this paper we review the medical and surgical options for HS with a particular focus on recent, new therapeutic approaches.

[Melanoma secondary prevention]

Melanoma represents a major public health problem. Its incidence is constantly rising and the mortality rate can be frightfully important if the diagnosis is delayed. Melanoma also exerts a significant economical burden on the society. Therefore there is a need of concrete and pragmatic public health strategies in order to enhance melanoma prevention. Primary prevention of melanoma consists in avoiding excessive exposure to ultraviolet rays,'which represent the main risk factor for the disease occurrence. Secondary prevention is a synonym of melanoma early diagnosis and can be obtained by means of two methods : patients' self-examination and medical examination. Both these examinations must be routinely and thoroughly performed, must be based on the ABCDE rule and the ugly duckling sign, and ideally must be aided by the use of total-body photography. Current international guidelines suggest that all cutaneous screenings should be performed using dermoscopy, a non-invasive imaging technique that allows improving considerably the diagnostic performance. More sophisticated imaging techniques, such as confocal microscopy, are also available in specialised centres. The current scientific evidence supports the efficacy of melanoma primary and secondary prevention programs as a tool to decrease melanoma mortality. Many skin cancer prevention campaigns have been organised worldwide. The most famous and successful in Europe is Euromelanoma.