The incidence of skin cancer, including cutaneous melanoma, has risen substantially in recent years, and epidemiological and laboratory studies demonstrate that ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a major causative factor for this increase. UV damage also underlies photoaging of the skin, and those deleterious effects of UV can be, in part, prevented in skin with higher levels of constitutive pigmentation. We review the findings of a series of clinical studies we have made in recent years regarding the rapid and the long-term responses of the pigmentary system in human skin to UV exposure. Key words: ultraviolet, skin, photoprotection, pigmentation, photoaging
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