By Gillian Tsoi

Daily doses of vitamin A could reduce the risk of developing skin cancer, according to doctors in the US.

A new study has found that people who took vitamin A supplements lowered their risk of developing deadly melanoma by 60%.

Meanwhile, people who had taken the supplement in the past, but had ceased taking it, did not gain any protective effect.

Approximately 69,000 people took part in the study, which was conducted at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research. All participants were ingesting vitamin A - either by dietary or supplementary means.

After about six years, a total of 566 had developed melanoma - the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Out of the 59,000 people who had never taken Vitamin A supplements, 506 developed melanoma.

Among the 5,800 people that were currently taking supplements and had used them regularly over the past 10 years, there were just 28 cases of melanoma.

Only the supplements lowered melanoma risk, not vitamin A from food.

Furthermore, women enjoyed more protection from the vitamin that men. The protection was also more pronounced in areas of the body that were exposed to the sun.

Dr Maryam Asgari, who led the study, said that the reduced risk of skin cancer were "definitely linked with supplements, not diet".

Asgari points out that the effects were only seen in people who were taking more vitamin A than what is found in multivitamins.

Vitamin A is beneficial for healthy vision, bones, immune function and reproduction. However, high doses of it can be toxic.

The study was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Read more about skin cancer here