Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1)-deficient mice are protected against septic shock, type I diabetes, stroke and inflammation. It is now accepted that inflammation and related events, such as activation of NF-kappaB, are key components in the initiation and progression of epithelial cancer and in particular in the neoplastic transformation of keratinocytes and skin carcinogenesis. Here, we report that PARP-1-deficient mice display a strikingly reduced susceptibility to skin carcinogenesis. In parp-1(-/-) mice, development of papilloma-like premalignant lesions induced with DMBA and TPA, is strongly delayed and the final number of tumor-bearing mice and total tumor number were significantly reduced. In addition, epidermis of parp-1(-/-) mice did not show increased proliferation rates after treatment with carcinogen. Deregulated NF-kappaB is a hallmark for tumorigenesis together with the concomitant release of early inflammatory mediators. In the absence of PARP-1, NF-kappaB activation and induction kappaB-target genes did not take place during the promotion of tumor development. These results suggest that PARP-1 abolition impairs the promotion of skin carcinogenesis interfering with the activation of NF-kappaB and might have an important implication in targeting PARP-1 as a new antineoplastic therapeutic approach.