Sunscreen may be a simple way to prevent skin cancer, but most Americans don’t use it, a new study finds.

About 3.5 million people in the U.S. will develop skin cancer this year, and nearly 74,000 of these cases will be melanoma, a deadly type that kill nearly 10,000 annually.

Sunscreen prevents skin cancer and premature skin aging, but new research finds that only 14 percent of men and about 30 percent of women regularly use it.

Women may be more likely to use sunscreen on their face because of the anti-aging benefits, or because many cosmetic products on the market contain it, said the study's lead author Dawn Holman, a behavioral scientist at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“However it’s important to protect your whole body from the sun, not just your face,” she added.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.