Researchers develop drug to take skin cancer risk out of getting a sun tan

Thanks to a new drug, people may now be able to get a tan without exposure to the sun, thus minimising the risk of skin cancer.

According to the scientists who developed the drug, after a 10-year research, the drug works by stimulating the cells that produce the pigment that absorbs ultraviolet light. The research was published in  the US journal Cell Reports published on Tuesday.

The researchers have called for further tests to safeguard against potential side-effects in humans.

When it was applied as a cream to the skin, the drug allowed red-haired mice to develop a deep tan. Mice, like humans are particularly susceptible to the damaging effects of the sun's ultraviolet rays. The drug works on people with pale skin too.

The original breakthrough in mice was announced over a decade ago, in a study published in the British journal Nature in 2006. It had however, taken scientists that much time to work out how to make much thicker human skin absorb the substance.

According to the initial report, a substance called forskolin gave red-haired mice a deep tan without exposure to UV light. But as human skin was relatively hairless compared to animal skins, it had evolved to be much tougher in order to protect against heat, cold and other environmental factors, and the topical substance could not penetrate it effectively.

The team at the Massachusetts General Hospital hopes their discovery could prevent skin cancer and even slow the appearance of ageing.

UV light makes the skin tan by causing damage, which triggers a chain of chemical reactions in the skin that prompt the body to make dark melanin - the body's natural sunblock.

When the drug is rubbed on the skin, it kick-starts the process of making melanin, in the process, eliminating potential damage to the skin from UV rays.

Dr David Fisher, one of the researchers, told the BBC News, "It has a potent darkening effect.

"Under the microscope it's the real melanin, it really is activating the production of pigment in a UV-independent fashion."