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A clinical study has proven that applying sun protection factor 30 (SPF30) prior to ultraviolet-B (UVB) will help delay melanoma, a type of skin cancer that hit Wolverine superstar, Hugh Jackman.

The study was done on lab mice and showed that the use of sunscreen delayed the onset of melanoma. Christin Burd, the lead researcher at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute said that the results show that the mouse model can be used to discover new, more effective agents to prevent melanoma.

Maine News Online reported that the melanoma case in the United States has been increasing over the past 40 years. But since sunscreen are generally manufactured as cosmetics and mostly tested in synthetic skin models or human volunteers, it has not been tested if sunscreen really prevents melanoma, said Burd.

Burd also mentioned that the mouse model that they had developed will allow them to test the sunscreen's ability in protecting skin against burns and preventing melanoma.

The study showed that there is an increased rate in developing melanoma and there were more tumors after they applied 4OHT to the skin of genetically engineered mice followed by an exposure to a single dose of UVB light.

They then used the mouse model to test the ability of the SPF30 sunscreens to prevent melanoma which is applied before exposing to UVB light. The result showed that the sunscreen delayed the melanoma and reduced tumor incident.

Burd said that it is hard to compare the melanoma-preventing capability of the different sunscreens since some of these sunscreens that are marketed as SPF30 were predicted to have a higher rating.

The researchers are still searching for the specific sunscreen ingredients that can provide the most effective protection against melanoma.

Meanwhile, when Jackman's wife, Deborra-Lee Furness noticed an odd spot on his skin; she pushed him to get himself checked, according to Babble.

"Boy, was she right! I had [basal] cell carcinoma," Hugh Jackman said. "Please don't be foolish like me. Get yourself checked. And USE sunscreen!!!"

It is reported that almost half of all cancers in the United States are accounted to skin cancer. Each year, more than 3.5 million cases of squamous and basal cell skin cancer are diagnosed in the country.

Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancers. However, early detection helps the cancer to get treated in most cases.