Study: Moisturizers raise skin cancer risk

New Brunswick, N.J.

- Common moisturizers increase the production of tumors in mice that have previously been exposed to UV rays, according to a study published in the

Journal of Investigative Dermatology

.

Scientists were planning to test caffeine as a cancer preventive in humans by adding it to Dermabrase, a common moisturizer. Before starting, researchers tested Dermabrase for carcinogenic activity, and found that it, and three other common moisturizers, increased tumor production in mice by an average of 69 percent.