A report published in the Aug. 14 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology shows that moisturizing creams may contribute to the spread of skin cancer.

The study was made on hairless mice exposed to UV radiation and afterwards treated with skin cream, which was proved to develop the risk of producing tumors.

The scientists, from Rutgers University in New Jersey intended to test caffeine as a cancer preventative in humans by adding it to a common moisturizer. But they had to test the moisturizer first and its carcinogenic activity. They used Dermabase in the first place and then they also tested other common moisturizers and found an average 69 per cent increase in tumor growth rate.

Apart from Dermabase, manufactured by Paddock Laboratories in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the other creams analyzed in the study were: Dermovan, made by Healthpoint Ltd. in Fort Worth, Texas; Eucerin Original Moisturising Cream, made by Beiersdorf Inc. in Wilton, Connecticut; and Vanicream, made by Pharmaceutical Specialities, Inc. in Rochester, Minnesota.

The type of skin cancer we are talking about is not fatal. Non-melanoma skin cancer is very common in humans, and is curable surgically.

The scientists also warned us that rodent skin is more sensitive than human skin. Other scientists however didn’t find the study relevant at all. Above all the skin of mice is much thinner.

They don’t know what cream ingredients are so harmful for the skin, but the mineral oil is among the suspects because it has been shown to be tumorigenic in animal models, as well as sodium lauryl sulphate, a known irritant.