Melanoma & Skin Cancer News Round Up: 29/04/2014

MASScot does not endorse nor is affiliated with any of the content contained within these links. 

• GSK’s Mekinist on course for EU melanoma approval

GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) skin cancer drug Mekinist was the only new medicine recommended by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in its latest batch of opinions.

http://www.pmlive.com/pharma_news/gsks_mekinist_on_course_for_eu_melanoma_approval_563017

• Cheap holidays 'increased' melanoma rates

Skin cancer rates ‘surge since 1970s’,” reports the BBC.

The news is based on a press release from Cancer Research UK after the release of new figures for the number of people diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. The statistics show that the number of people being diagnosed with malignant melanoma is five times higher than it was 40 years ago.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/04April/Pages/Cheap-holidays-increased-melanoma-rates.aspx

• Pauline Latham: Teachers should be able to protect children against melanoma

Some months ago, I met with a skin cancer specialist who had worked in Australia. He told me that every child there is required to carry a bottle of water and sun cream in their school bag. Teachers in Australian schools are also permitted to apply the cream should the child be unable to do so. This sort of teacher/pupil contact would of course be frowned upon in this country, and many teachers would be apprehensive about such physical contact. This blanket no-touching policy is absurd. If a teacher puts cream onto a child in full view of others, and especially is a woman, what is the problem? Once a child is able to apply it themselves they can, but in the early years they do need help.

http://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/Pauline-Latham-Teachers-able-protect-children/story-21011986-detail/story.html#ixzz30GiaxS4Q

• How healthy is your postcode? Malignant melanoma map shows Cornwall and Devon's high risk of skin cancer

A new online map that allows people to enter their postcode and find the risk of developing 14 conditions has gone live, highlighting the high risk of skin cancer in Cornwall and Devon.

http://www.middevonstar.co.uk/news/devon_news/11172531.How_healthy_is_your_postcode__Malignant_melanoma_map_shows_Cornwall_and_Devon_s_high_risk_of_skin_cancer/

• Skin cancer alert issued as number of cases soars

Rates of malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, are five times higher in the UK than they were in the 1970s, new figures show.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/21/skin-cancer-alert-malignant-melanoma

• Crackdown on tanning salons as East Lancs skin cancer toll rises

COUNCIL chiefs have pledged to get tough on tanning salons after new figures revealed a huge rise in the number of skin cancer sufferers in East Lancashire.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/11172343.Crackdown_on_tanning_salons_as_East_Lancs_skin_cancer_toll_rises/

• Skin Cancer: How To Spot The Signs

Two big stories around skin cancer have cropped up recently: one is that men who live alone are more likely to get skin cancer and the second is that scientists have made a step towards understanding what role family history plays in getting the disease.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/04/22/skin-cancer-how-to-spot-the-signs_n_5076652.html

Melanoma & Skin Cancer News Round Up: 03/04/2014

MASScot does not endorse nor is affiliated with any of the content contained within these links. 

This post is simply a collection of links which refer to melanoma or skin cancer in some capacity.

• Skin cancer: Genetic mutations 'warn of risk'

Scientists say they have taken a step forward in understanding why some people are at greater risk of skin cancer because of their family history.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26790332

• Durable melanoma remission seen with Bristol immunotherapy drug

A drug that uses the body's own immune system to kill cancer cells has produced lasting remissions - some as long as two years - in patients with melanoma that had spread to other parts of the body, according to data published on Monday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/03/cancer-melanoma-bristol-idUSL1N0LX1R720140303

• Men under 20 and over 64 putting themselves at risk of skin cancer

Men aged under 20 and over 64 are at greater risk of developing skin cancer than women because they are far more likely to ignore warnings to protect themselves against sunshine by wearing suncream or a hat, a new study shows.

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/mar/26/men-under-20-over-64-putting-themselves-risk-skin-cancer

• Bacteria may enhance the body’s ability to fight melanoma

Recent research from the University of Otago shows that bacteria may assist the body’s immune system response against cancer cells and help fight tumours like melanoma.

http://www.healthcanal.com/cancers/48192-bacteria-may-enhance-the-body%E2%80%99s-ability-to-fight-melanoma.html

• Eight out of ten tanning salons exceed legal limit on cancer rays: Light bulbs that are too powerful put users at increased risk

Eight out of ten sunbed salons failed safety tests in spot checks by officials. The majority of beds were found to have light bulbs that were too powerful and put users at increased risk of cancer. In the worst case, their output of UV rays breached the legal limit by as much as four times. The legal limit for sunbed emissions is 0.3 watts per square metre – the equivalent of the midday summer sun in Spain.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2589464/Eight-ten-tanning-salons-exceed-legal-limit-cancer-rays-Light-bulbs-powerful-users-increased-

• "Single men risk ignoring melanoma symptoms" - The NHS Invesigates this claim

The headlines are based on a population study from Sweden, which followed almost 30,000 people diagnosed with malignant melanoma – the most serious form of skin cancer.

Despite the headline, the study did not find that men who live alone were at greater risk of developing melanoma.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/04April/Pages/Single-men-risk-ignoring-melanoma-symptoms.aspx