Melanoma & Skin Cancer News Round Up: 12/12/2014

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• Experimental drugs aim to tackle melanoma 'escape route'

Manchester researchers are developing a new generation of targeted melanoma drugs that could bypass treatment resistance seen with current therapies.

Source: CR UK

• Ocular Melanoma: Are You Aware of This Eye Cancer? (US)

I never even knew ocular melanoma existed. I was aware of skin cancer, but never knew that people could get cancer in their eyes. The fact is that not many people do. Ocular melanoma is a very rare cancer, with only about six in 1 million people diagnosed per year.

Source: Huffington Post 

• Study finds melanoma and prostate cancer a risk for firefighters (AUS)

Firefighters are at greater risk of developing some cancers, compared to the Australian public, a study has found.

Source: Medical Xpress 

• Choroidal Melanoma in Children: Be Aware of Risks

The authors describe a case of choroidal melanoma in a 13-year-old girl treated with plaque brachytherapy.

Source: Healio 

Tragedy as man, 24, dies just eight months after doctors diagnosed skin cancer in mole triggered by Turkish holiday

A man who developed skin cancer after getting sunburnt in Turkey has died - just 18 months after returning from his holiday. 

Source: Daily Mail 

• New targeted drugs could treat drug-resistant skin cancer

A brand new family of cancer drugs designed to block several key cancer-causing proteins at once could potentially treat incurable skin cancers, a major new study reports.

Source: Eurekalert 

• Science & Society: Sunlight, sunbeds and skin cancer (US)

One American dies every hour from melanoma, the most common of the skin cancers. And a major tragedy is it is largely preventable.

But “everyone knows” it’s due to exposure to sunlight, so why devote a column to it at the beginning of winter? I assure you, there are reasons.

Source: Herald Extra 

Melanoma & Skin Cancer News Round Up: 09/12/2014

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

• Brits too willing to risk their lives by ignoring potential cancer symptoms

People are putting their lives at risk by dismissing the warning signs of cancer, experts have warned.

A new study by Cancer Research UK found that more than half of British people have experienced at least one "red flag cancer alarm" symptom – such as a persistent cough or an unexplained lump – but only two per cent thought cancer was a possible cause.

Source: Independent 

• Creating body art! Dannii Minogue shows off her leopard painted figure mid process ahead of her campaign to raise awareness for skin cancer prevention

Spots can be dangerous: Dannii Minogue goes wild as she covers herself in leopard-print body paint to support skin cancer awareness

Source: Daily Mail 

• Natural Selection Favors Pale Skin Even Though Cancer Risk Is Higher

When humans migrated out of Africa some 100,000 years ago, the pigmentation in their skin gradually adapted to cooler climates resulting in the paler skin of people who now live in higher latitudes. But natural selection is furthering this adaptive process despite an increased risk of skin cancer. Scientists in Spain have been finding out why.

Source: Red Orbit 

• Advanced Melanoma: Treatments for Stages III and IV

Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. In stages I and II, melanoma may be effectively treated with surgical removal of the lesions.

Source: Empowher 

• More Skin, More Sun, More Tan, More Melanoma

Although personal melanoma risk factors are well established, the contribution of socioeconomic factors, including clothing styles, social norms, medical paradigms, perceptions of tanned skin, economic trends, and travel patterns, to melanoma incidence has not been fully explored. We analyzed artwork, advertisements, fashion trends, and data regarding leisure-time activities to estimate historical changes in UV skin exposure. 

Source: Medscape 

• Ipilimumab in Uveal Melanoma: Long-Lasting Responses in 25%

The first trial of the immunomodulator ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) conducted in patients with malignant uveal melanoma has shown efficacy in some patients.

Source: Medscape 

• SLNB did not improve survival in head and neck melanoma

Patients with head and neck melanoma who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy derived no disease-specific survival benefit compared with patients who did not undergo the procedure, according to study results.

Source: Healio