Dermatologist probes Nova Scotia’s alarming skin cancer trends

Ivan Litvinov wants to convince Nova Scotians and Prince Edward Islanders that getting a tan is lame.

Of even taller order, the McGIll University dermatologist wants to convince teenagers living in coastal communities he’s identified as skin cancer hot spots (more on that later) that they don’t want to go get a tan.

“You can go into a school and talk till you’re blue in the face about skin cancer and it won’t get you anywhere,” said Litvinov.

“You’ve got to go there and talk about wrinkles and aging and that people with high sun exposure end up looking about 15 years older.”

Litvinov has taken a deep dive into Atlantic Canada’s skin health.

While Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick have followed the alarming national trend — a nearly doubling of rates over the past two decades — Nova Scotia and P.E.I.’s rates have soared to 50 per cent higher than the Canadian average.

Through multiple studies, Litvinov’s team has looked at skin cancer rates by postal code, by demographics and by weather. 

They’ve held 22 focus groups through the region to come to grips with the “sunscreen paradox”: that people in the highest risk areas are more aware of skin cancer and of the importance of sunscreen and are more likely to use it, but those areas end up with more cases anyway.

Litvinov’s charts and maps make sense; rates are highest in coastal communities along the Northumberland Strait, western Cape Breton and the Eastern Shore, where people spend a lot of time at the beach. 

Demographically, those with higher incomes have higher rates; they tend to go on sunny vacations.

Men who work outside have higher rates of cancers on their head, necks and torsos.

In fact, men have higher rates of every form of skin cancer except for those found primarily on the hands and feet.

Statistically speaking, we tend to be pasty people.

“Many people of Irish descent or from the British Isles, they aren’t even able to tan,” said Litvinov.

“They just burn and then their skin is peeling.”
And that’s bad because sunburns cause DNA damage that accumulates over the years and can lead to significantly increased chances of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma.

A tan (for those who can) is itself a form of skin damage (albeit a protective one) associated with other forms of cancer (though less statistically likely to cause death).

“The burns you get in your teens and 20s are going to give you melanoma in your 60s through to your 80s,” said Litvinov.

“Before, people didn’t live that long. They would die younger of cardiac arrest. Trips to Mexico were too expensive for previous generations, but now they’re common.”

It’s not all bad news. While rates of skin cancer have been on the rise, mortality has been trending down thanks in large part to better treatments.

The goal is to inform the public through a campaign about sun safety that, unlike many previous attempts, actually works.

Litvinov wants our teenagers to go outside. He just wants them to put on a hat and sunscreen (regularly reapplied) when they do.