Schumer: FDA needs to speed up melanoma studies

Sen. Charles Schumer took aim at the Food and Drug Administration Sunday, saying it should speed up an analysis of potential harmful side effects of a chemical found in many sunscreens.

Recent studies have shown that the chemical, retinyl palmitate, may speed development of melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer, in lab mice.

"It would be a terrible irony if sunscreen, which is supposed to protect you from cancer, instead can cause it," Schumer (D-N.Y.) said. "If they think it's fine, they should say that; if they think it needs more study, they should say that. If there is a problem, they should say that sooner rather than later."

The National Toxicology Program and the National Center for Toxicological Research have studied the chemical, a form of Vitamin A, for more than a decade. Results of the research completed in June 2009 show the use of sunscreen containing the chemical speeds the formation of melanoma in lab mice by as much as 21 percent. The study did not examine the use of the chemical when combined with sunscreen.

Schumer said the FDA's final report on the research is "languishing" and "When you ask the FDA about it, you get bureaucratic shoulder shrugging."

But FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said the ongoing review schedule is "standard procedure." She said the "FDA is awaiting the NTP review and it is premature to draw conclusions from the study at this time."

The FDA plans to publish a draft report on the effects of retinyl palmitate in December, with a final version to be released in January, following a review by the NTP, she said.

Schumer said the beginning of summer and the start of beach season, as well as a number of constituent questions, led his office to investigate why the FDA analysis hasn't been completed.

Retinyl palmitate is found in many sunscreens and other creams, said Burgess. Not all sunscreens contain the chemical.