CAROTENOIDS AFFECT DEVELOPMENT OF UV‐B INDUCED SKIN CANCER

Abstract
One large dose of UV‐B (8 × 1014 J m‐2: 290‐320 nm) has been found to cause the development of skin tumors in hairless mice, and carotenoid pigments prevent or delay tumor development in this system. This model was used to determine if the protective effect of carotenoid pigments against UV‐B induced skin tumors occurred during the induction phase or progression phase of UV‐B carcinogenesis. The results indicate that the carotenoids canthaxanthin and (J‐carotene interfered with the progression phase in this system; whether they also had an effect during induction could not be definitely determined from our data.