November 9, 2011 – The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is inviting public comment on its draft recommendation statement on behavioral counseling to prevent skin cancer. This is an update of its 2003 recommendation statement. The updated draft statement recommends that primary care clinicians counsel children, adolescents, and young adults aged 10 to 24 years about minimizing exposure to ultraviolet radiation to prevent skin cancer. This recommendation applies to young people, who are at increased risk for skin cancer, especially fair-skinned individuals (who freckle and sunburn easily). The draft recommendation also states that for adults over the age of 24 years, there is not enough evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of counseling to prevent skin cancer.
To view the recommendation and provide comments, please go to /uspstf/public-comments-and-nominations/opportunity-for-public-comment. The opportunity to comment on this draft recommendation statement will be available until December 6, 2011.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is a national, independent panel of medical experts that makes recommendations based on scientific evidence to primary care doctors and other health care providers about which clinical prevention services they should offer their patients.
