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Dateline: September 2, 2002 - Angela Keen (KGMB 9 News) : A Hawaii-made product is drawing attention. A study found one of its ingredients may fight cancer. Researchers discovered that caffeine put on the skin appears to prevent tumors in mice. The product is Maui Babe Browning Lotion. "They love our lotion because they turn brown," said Mona Aragon, the main distributor in Hawaii of the product. Maui Babe is not a sunscreen. Instead, the lotion is designed to help give you a nice glow.

Maui resident Joe Rossi invented the lotion eight years ago. "It got developed in Wailuku," explained Aragon. "One day he went out to get a sun tan and he concocted his own formula and went up to the roof top of his home." Little did he know after he created his browning lotion that it might help fight cancer because of one of its ingredients - coffee. Researchers recently found that caffeine may block the formation of cancerous tumors on mice. The scientists exposed hairless mice to ultraviolet rays. Those treated with a caffeine-containing lotion had 50 to 70 percent fewer tumors. One researcher says coffee on the skin is different than sunscreen because it seems to block the formation of tumors. Distributor Aragon said customers often tell her of another benefit: "When they use Maui Babe the kukui nut oil ... benefits the skin. It's a natural moisturizer and it heals the skin so there's a lot of people who use it for dry skin and psoriasis." Maui Babe Browning Lotion is not a sunscreen, so it's recommended that you apply your favorite sun block first. For more information you can go to www.mauibabe.com

Treating the skin with caffeine has been shown to prevent skin cancer in laboratory studies conducted in the Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research at Rutgers' Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy.. "It is not a sun-screening effect, but it's something more than that – it's a biological effect," said Allan Conney, director of the laboratory. "We may have found a safe and effective way of preventing skin cancer," he said of the discovery It has been known for a long time that skin cancer is caused predominantly by sunlight. Conney and the team of other researchers in the laboratory explained that while sunscreen use has decreased the risk of skin cancers, we still need additional approaches for skin-cancer prevention in individuals previously exposed to high-dose levels of sunlight. The research team studied a special strain of hairless mice that had been exposed to ultraviolet B light, placing the mice at risk for tumor formation and skin cancer. After stopping the exposures, the researchers applied caffeine and EGCG, two components of green tea, topically to the skin. Both significantly inhibited cancer formation in the mice but, because caffeine is more stable, it probably will be more useful in topical applications. One of their earlier studies dealt with caffeine taken orally. Direct skin application, however, can provide more highly concentrated doses and larger overall dosages. "Whether you can give enough orally to be effective in humans is not known," said Conney. "Whether people could ingest that amount without becoming hyperactive is also a real question mark." The study also reported the highly selective action of both caffeine and EGCG in killing cancer cells. Adjacent normal skin cells were not affected. The researchers do anticipate human clinical trials in the near future but, "for now," said Conney, "if you are a mouse, it would be terrific. In people, we just don't know yet." The Susan Lehman Cullman Laboratory for Cancer Research The Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy