Melanoma & Skin Cancer News Round Up: 27/03/2015

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• Merck halts study in light of melanoma drug’s success

Keytruda proved successful in prolonging survival rates of melanoma patients, and the company is hoping the drug can do the same for many more cancers.

Source: Fortune 

• Combined Triple Therapy Boosts Anti-Tumor Immune Response in Melanoma

In a new study entitled “Improved anti tumor activity of immunotherapy with BRAF and MEK inhibitors in BRAFV600E melanoma,” researchers show increased anti-tumor activity of a triple therapy – BRAF and MEK inhibitors with immunotherapy — in BRAF mutant melanoma. The study was published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Source: Immuno-Oncology News 

• Teacher determined to educate about dangers of melanoma

One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime and 3.5 million new cases are predicted to be diagnosed this year, that’s according to IU Health.

Biology teacher Ken Link knows the statistics all too well. He lost his wife to skin cancer two years ago.

It’s one reason why he makes sure Hamilton Southeastern High School students know the dangers of the sun.

Source: Wish TV 

• Research Shows Gene Removal May Aid Melanoma Treatmen

Nearly 10,000 deaths from melanoma – the deadliest of all skin cancers – occurred in the U.S. last year, according to the National Cancer Institute. And while treatment advances have been made in fighting melanoma, a majority of these patients will die from their disease. In an aim to build upon these advances, investigators at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey have demonstrated that removal of a gene involved in the cellular self-cannibalization process of autophagy could provide therapeutic benefit to patients with melanoma.
Source: NewsWise 

• Ipilimumab confers long-term survival in advanced melanoma

Ipilimumab was associated with long-term OS rates that plateaued after 3 years in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, according to results from a pooled analysis of phase 2 and phase 3 trials.

Source: Healio 

• Radiation Plus Immunotherapy Combination Improves Immune System Response to Metastatic Melanoma

A triple attack of radiation plus two immunotherapies appears to improve the immune system response in patients with metastatic melanoma, according to a recent study from a multidisciplinary team of researchers, including the Miller School’s Hemant Ishwaran, Ph.D., professor of public health sciences.

Source: Health Canal 

• Skin cancer scare has made me more aware of sun dangers, says Emilia Fox

When actress Emilia Fox was pregnant with her daughter Rose she felt the same joyous Wanticipation as any woman about to become a mother for the first time. But just as the 40-year-old Silent Witness star was mapping out her future as a parent she faced a health scare which threatened all her dreams.

Source: Express

• Full-body scanner could ease early detection of skin cancer

Researchers at the Magdeburg University Clinic for Dermatology and Venereology in Germany and colleagues have developed a full-body scanner device that could bring early detection of skin cancer a major step forward, as it could simplify the work of dermatologists and provide a more reliable form of skin screening.

Source: Bio Optics World 

Melanoma Action and Support Scotland News Round Up: Feb/March

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

Skin cancer drug fast-tracked on NHS

• An experimental and unlicensed cancer drug has been fast-tracked to NHS patients under a new government scheme.

Source: BBC

FTC to Pursue Charges Against Melanoma Detection Apps

• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a case to end fraudulent advertisement regarding mobile apps that are supposed to diagnose melanoma through detecting symptoms or pictures of moles.

Source: Melanoma news today

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     Penn trial suggests 'triple threat' for melanoma patients could be effective

• Results from a clinical trial published online in the journal Nature Monday introduce a new "triple threat" combination that could be effective in treating melanoma that's spread throughout a patient's body.

Source: Newsworks   

Colin Bloomfield: BBC Radio Derby presenter launches Melanoma Appeal to educate Derbyshire children about sun safety

• For 18 months, readers of the Derby Telegraph and listeners to BBC Radio Derby have been following Colin Bloomfield's fight against stage four melanoma.

Source: Derby Telegraph  

Immunotherapy promising for advanced melanoma

• Perhaps no other cancer has benefited more from treatment advances in recent years than advanced melanoma. Once a virtual death sentence, these patients now have a reason to be hopeful, thanks to agents approved in the last three years and even better ones in the pipeline, speakers said at the 3rd Annual World Cutaneous Malignancies Congress.

Source: Dermatology Times

 FTC fines apps firms for claiming their technology could detect melanoma

• Claims marketers of Mole Detective and MelApp ‘lacked adequate evidence’ showing their apps could detect melanoma symptoms

Source: The Guardian 

Three Dog Night’s Jimmy Greenspoon Dies of Melanoma

• Keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon, a classic-era member of Three Dog Night, has died after a battle with cancer. The band confirmed Greenspoon’s passing on their Facebook page, adding that the 67-year-old died today (March 11) at his residence.

Source: Ultimate classic Rock

Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal: Derby County and Mel Morris to donate thousands of pounds

• DERBY County Football Club is to donate thousands of pounds to the Colin Bloomfield Melanoma Appeal.

Source: Derby Telegraph

AAD task force reviews strengths, weaknesses of ABCDEs of melanoma

• The American Academy of Dermatology Ad Hoc Task Force for the ABCDEs of Melanoma, chaired by Hensin Tsao, MD, PhD, reviewed the mnemonic for early detection of melanoma and determined it has strengths and weaknesses.

Source: Healio      

 Eight recent developments in melanoma

• Recent study findings involving melanoma included patients with familial or sporadic melanoma having an elevated risk for future melanoma and the use of gene expression profiling to identify metastasis risk.

Source: Healio          

 Ipilimumab improves 5-year survival rate in advanced melanoma

• The addition of ipilimumab to dacarbazine doubled 5-year survival in treatment-naive patients with advanced melanoma, according to results of a randomized, controlled phase 3 trial.

Source: Healio       

Frontline Therapy for BRAF-Mutated Unresectable Melanoma

• Several factors can be utilized to determine the optimal treatment for patients with BRAF-mutated unresectable melanoma, explains Anna Pavlick, DO. Outside of BRAF status, treatment can be tailored using the volume of disease, rate of progression, symptoms, and LDH level.

Source: Onc Live

          

Pilots' union to support melanoma charities

• The UK’s pilots' union is to support Melanoma UK and Melanoma Focus in an effort to support pilots affected by the disease.

Source: Travel weekly     

 Study Shows Castle Biosciences’ Noninvasive Skin Melanoma Gene Test Improves Accuracy of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy in Predicting Metastasis

• Castle Biosciences Inc. today announced the publication of a clinical study showing that its gene expression profile (GEP) test for cutaneous (skin) melanoma improved the prognostic accuracy of sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) in identifying patients at high risk of their cancer spreading.

Source: Pharmiweb

Sun Damage Causes Genetic Changes That Predispose Children and Adolescents to Melanoma

• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital—Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has identified the genetic basis of three pediatric melanoma subtypes; findings could lead to better diagnosis and treatment.

Source: News Wise               

·         Novel Risk Score Could Identify Melanoma Risk

• A novel risk score may be able to identify patients who are at risk for developing melanoma, according to a recent study published online ahead of print in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Source: Cancer therapy advisor           

·         New-look Melanoma New Zealand geared up to fight disease

• New-look Melanoma New Zealand geared up to fight disease. The Melanoma Foundation of New Zealand has had a makeover, this month unveiling a new name and an overhaul of the organisation’s branding.

Source: Scoop           

Treating Melanoma with the Help of Chromatography

• Most people enjoy some time in the sun and while a little sunlight is good for us — helping to generate vitamin D — too much sun can be harmful. The sting of sunburnt skin is painful, but the effects of too much sun can also result in something far more serious — melanoma and possibly death.

Source: Chromatography Today