The effects of all-trans retinoic acid (RA) in 0.05%, 0.025% and 0.005% concentrations on ultraviolet (UV) induced carcinogenesis was investigated in the skin of Uscd strain hairless mice. A carcinogenic amount of UV energy was delivered over the 12-mo period of the study. The 0.025% and 0.005% RA solutions did not alter the development of cutaneous cancers. However, the 0.05% RA concentration significantly inhibited the tumor formation in this study.