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Study: Skin
Cancer Cases On Rise-(ET-09/08/2005)
If you're in your 20s and 30s you may not be too worried about skin
cancer, but a new study is sounding the alarm. There has been a big jump
in the number of cases, especially among young people. Mary Marshall was
38 when she had a doctor check a growing red spot on her shoulder. "I
thought it was from exercise and sweating too much and just general
redness and irritation but it didn't go away," Marshall said.
A biopsy revealed a cancerous growth called basal cell carcinoma -- a
diagnosis now received by three times as many women under age 40 than 25
years ago, according to new Mayo Clinic research. The study also uncovered
a big jump in squamous cell carcinomas in both young women and men, which
has dermatologists very concerned. "Squamous cell is potentially lethal if
not treated. And these are incredibly common. If you get one when you're
young, you need surgery earlier. It means you're at higher risk later in
life for more of these. There's nothing good about this story at all,"
Skincare Physicians Dr. Jeffrey Dover said.
Dover said that the cause of the non-melanoma cancers is clear. "Basal
cell and squamous cell are caused directly by sun exposure over time. If
you don't go in the sun you never will get a squamous cell or basal cell,"
Dover said.
Basal cell carcinomas can appear as pink bumps. Squamous cell tends to
look very pink and scaly, like a scab that won't heal. People often
mistake them for sores, but the cancerous growths must be removed, the
earlier the better.
If you've spent years on the beach or frequented tanning beds, the damage
has likely been done, so regular skin checks are a must. One dermatologist
said that based on the study, sun protection should be taken as seriously
as seat belts, stopping smoking and exercise. Doctors said that it's
possible the increase in skin cancer cases has come from better awareness,
and that people are getting in to dermatologists sooner.
Skin cancer breakthrough
in an egg-(Scotland on Sunday-24/07/2005)
CHICKEN eggs
containing a drug that can target and treat skin cancer have been
produced by Scottish scientists.
Researchers at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, where Dolly the
Sheep was cloned, used genetically modified hens to lay the drug-laced
eggs. By
"hijacking" the biological processes of the hens they were able to
concentrate high levels of the drug inside the egg whites. The drug
comes in the form of an antibody in the egg white. It specifically
targets the malignant melanoma cells that cause skin cancer. The
breakthrough has raised hopes that large quantities of the cancer drug
can be harvested for patients from chicken eggs.
It is the
first time drugs have been successfully produced in large quantities
inside animal food products. Previous attempts to grow drugs inside
sheep milk have proven to be ineffective.
Researchers at the Roslin Institute are now trying to breed a second
generation of hens capable of laying drug-laced eggs in a bid to produce
larger flocks that can be used as "factories" for making the drug. Standard
laboratory methods used to produce the drug, called Anti-R24(h), are
expensive and time consuming. But using genetically modified chickens,
researchers were able to produce large quantities of the drug cheaply
and quickly.
"We
are hijacking one of the protein genes and replacing it with our drug
protein instead," said Dr Helen Sang, of the Roslin Institute. "With a
modified cockerel it should be possible to produce a whole flock of
transgenic hens. Each hen lays one egg a day, so it means we could
produce a lot of the drug from that."
The Avian
Transgenic Manufacturing project is a joint venture between the Roslin
Institute, US-based drug company Viragen and the biotechnology firm
Oxford BioMedica. They are
aiming to have the first chicken egg-produced drugs available for use by
cancer patients within five years after initial clinical trials of the
antibody drug have already proven to be successful. It works
by hunting out and detecting molecules on the outside of the cancer
cells and helping the body's immune system destroy them.
Sang
claims while patients could take the drug by eating one of the
"designer" eggs, it is unlikely the drug regulation authorities would
allow it to go on the market unpurified. "It is a nice idea, but eggs
contain a lot of other things. All drugs have to meet stringent criteria
and have to be a certain purity, and it would be difficult to prove the
drug is pure in an uncracked egg."
Genetics
experts last night hailed the method as a major breakthrough. Professor
Richard Wilson, of Glasgow University, said: "Being able to produce
viable drugs inside chicken eggs is a big step and being able to obtain
a drug by cracking an egg is very attractive." Previous
attempts to produce drugs in animal products have failed to live up to
the same expectations. A spin off company from the Roslin Institute, PPL
Therapeutics, aimed to produce drugs in sheep milk, but the firm went
bust within a few years. Other firms have also tried to use milk from
goats and cows to produce drugs but none have proved commercially
viable.
[Top] Study: Curry
ingredient fights skin cancer-(Reuters10/07/2005)
The compound that makes curry yellow could help fight skin cancer, U.S.
researchers reported. They said
curcumin, found in the spice turmeric, interferes with melanoma cells. Tests in
laboratory dishes show that curcumin made melanoma skin cancer cells more
likely to self-destruct in a process known as apoptosis. The same
team has found that curcumin helped stop the spread of breast cancer tumor
cells to the lungs of mice.
Bharat
Aggarwal of the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at the University
of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and colleagues treated
three batches of melanoma cells, known as cell lines, with curcumin at
different doses and for varying times.
The curcumin
suppressed two proteins that tumor cells use to keep themselves immortal,
the researchers write in next month's issue of the journal Cancer. "Based on
our studies, we conclude the curcumin is a potent suppressor of cell
viability and inducer of apoptosis in melanoma cell lines," Aggarwal's
team wrote. "Future
investigation to determine the effects of curcumin in animal models of
melanoma and clinical trials are planned."
Earlier
research has shown that curcumin, which acts as an antioxidant, can help
prevent tumors from forming in the laboratory. Aggarwal
said people who eat plenty of turmeric have lower rates of some cancers,
although the spice itself has not been shown to reduce cancer risk in
people.
[Top]
Cancer
study yields clues on gray hair-(Times of India-24/12/2004)
US cancer researchers
have developed a new explanation for graying hair that they hope will
also shed light on the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Senior
Researcher, Dr. David E. Fisher of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in
Boston said, "What we really want is to come up with treatments for
melanoma."
Melanoma is the malignant form of
melanocytes, the cells that help colour hair and skin and is partially
resistant to chemotherapy and radiation. Fisher's team found that hair
turns gray when melancoytes get depleted. The scalp retains a reservoir of
adult stem cells that provide a continuous supply of these colour making
cells, but as the body ages, these cells become depleted and sometimes
begin to develop in the wrong part of the hair follicle.
[Top]
Studies: Sun
holds cancer benefits and risks-(AP-02/02/2005)
Sunlight
exposure, a major risk factor for the potentially deadly skin cancer
melanoma, may also help victims survive that disease, new research
indicates. And a second study indicates that exposure to sunlight may reduce the
risk of getting cancer of the lymph glands. Researchers stress that their findings do not mean people should rush
out and start baking in the sun. As for what people should do to gain
sunlight's benefits without its downsides, an editorial accompanying the
studies said more research is needed.
"Sunlight, particularly ultraviolet radiation, is a very well
established human carcinogen. Nothing in these papers should in any way
detract from this message," said Kathleen M. Egan of Vanderbilt University
Medical Center. But the new reports, being published this week in the Journal of the
National Cancer Institute, do provide important clues to the development
of these cancers and some factors that may slow or stop them.
Melanoma has been increasing over the past half-century in developed
countries with Caucasian populations, and studies have consistently found
exposure to the sun a major risk factor. However, a new look at 528 melanoma victims over five years also found
that increased sun exposure led to increased survivability, according to
the study led by Marianne Berwick of the department of internal medicine
at the University of New Mexico. "It's totally counterintuitive, and we're trying to investigate it,"
said Berwick, noting that she is now doing a similar study of 3,700
melanoma patients worldwide. "It's really strange, because sunburn seems to be one of the factors
associated with improved survival, and that doesn't make much sense, so we
think sunburn's a proxy for the kind of sun exposure that leads to
melanoma. But there's so much we need to know," Berwick said in a
telephone interview.
She said Vitamin D, which the skin makes in response to sunlight, may
be a factor. Vitamin D can help regulate cell growth and help cells stop
unneeded growth through a process called apoptosis. Another possibility is solar elastosis, a response to sunlight that
breaks down collagen in the skin -- the same process that causes
sun-related wrinkling. "It may be something in solar elastosis itself ... it may be that some
physical barrier created by this breakdown of collagen keeps the melanoma
from getting into the blood and lymph system," Berwick said.
In the second study, a research team led by Karin Ekstrom Smedby of the
Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, studied 3,000 lymph cancer
patients and a similar number of people without lymph cancer in Denmark
and Sweden. They found that increased exposure to ultraviolet radiation through
sunbathing and sunburns resulted in a reduced incidence of non-Hodgkin's
lymphoma.
Vanderbilt's Egan, who was not involved in either research team, said
it's unlikely to be sunlight itself that is an explanation of these
findings. The scientific community is converging on the idea that Vitamin D is
likely to be a protective agent in cancer, she said in a telephone
interview. "It's long been known that Vitamin D is a critically important agent in
bone health," she noted. "More recently it has become increasingly obvious
that Vitamin D has important regulatory functions in the cell, in terms of
cell division," she said.
In an accompanying commentary in the journal,
Egan and co-researchers at Vanderbilt say the two findings are of particular
interest because non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is suspected of being caused in
a way similar to skin cancer. More than a million cases of skin cancer
are attributed to sun exposure annually in the United States, with about
54,000 cases of melanoma diagnosed each year, noted the Vanderbilt researchers,
which also included Jeffrey A. Sosman and William J. Blot.
[Top]
Jump-starting
T Cells In Skin Cancer-(Yahoo News-02/01/2005)
Advanced melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer,
can be successfully treated in some cases by vaccinating patients with
tumor proteins. How these vaccines work and why they are only effective in
some patients remains unclear. Pierre Coulie and colleagues now show, in
two articles in the January 17 issue of the Journal of Experimental
Medicine, that these vaccines work by increasing the number of immune
cells called killer T cells that can attack the tumor. In an unexpected
finding, however, they discovered that that these cells mostly recognize
tumor proteins that were not contained in the vaccine. Understanding the
characteristics of the T cell populations that are expanded after
vaccination may help in the development of more effective anti-tumor
vaccines
Tumor-specific T cells can be detected in the blood and the tumors of
many melanoma patients, and yet these cells are unable to kill the tumor.
What causes the impotence of these T cells is a mystery. Equally
mysterious is why vaccination against tumor-specific proteins sometimes
causes tumor regression without expanding large numbers of
vaccine-specific killer T cells.
Pierre Coulie's group studied anti-tumor T cells in patients vaccinated
with a tumor antigen called MAGE-3. In one patient whose tumor regressed
after vaccination, the authors found significantly more T cells specific
for non-vaccine tumor proteins than were detected before vaccination.
Vaccine-specific T cells, on the other hand, became detectable but did not
expand to large numbers. Thus, reinvigoration of existing tumor-specific T
cells after vaccination did not require large numbers of vaccine-specific
T cells.
Although it is not known how these tumor-specific cells get activated,
Coulie thinks that the few T cells stimulated by the vaccine may change
the local, suppressive environment of the tumor such that other T cells
can snap out of their stupor and attack the tumor.
[Top]
Kids
Need to Wear Sunscreen, Hats, Shirts, Shades for Skin Cancer Protection-(Yahoo
News-16/08/2004)
After a child's first summer,
mothers often lapse in protecting the child's skin from the sun, new
research shows. Yet that's a critical time to wear sunscreen and cover
arms and legs, to protect against skin cancer. "Painful sunburns
during childhood are particularly important in the development of
melanoma, a life-threatening form of skin cancer... yet "at least
two-thirds of U.S. children are not adequately protected from the
sun," writes researcher Lori Steinberg Benjes, MD, a professor of
dermatology at Boston University. Her study appears in the latest issue of
the Archives of Dermatology.
In it, Benjes surveyed 92
families -- all with newborns -- to learn about their sun protection
efforts during their child's first and second years. All the families
lived in Falmouth, Mass., where a well-publicized sun protection education
program was underway. Despite the publicity, mothers quit protecting their
babies' skin early on. After the first summer (when the children were
about six months old), skin damage rates increased from 22% to 54% the
second summer, when they were about 18 months old, Benjes reports. Fewer
hats, long-sleeved shirts, and shades were used after children reached six
months, she writes. Yet more than 90% of mothers reported routinely using
sunscreen during the child's second summer.
What's going on? As children
become more active, mothers may have trouble keeping hats and shirts on
them, writes Benjes. Also, mothers may not realize that wearing sunscreen
alone is not adequate protection, she adds. Because there were few fully
shaded playgrounds and pool sites in Falmouth, that was a problem. While
children are in newborn through toddler stages, mothers must be more
proactive with safe-sun strategies, she writes. Sun protection must be
taught as part of a routine. When kids hit preadolescence, it's another
critical time to bolster the message: Wear sunscreen and cover skin during
peak times of the day to prevent skin cancer
[Top]
Stay
safe in the sun and protect your skin-(Yahoo News-10/06/2004)
MONKLANDS' sunworshippers
are being warned against the risk of skin cancer. North Lanarkshire Council's
Trading Standards Service, the health board and Cancer Research UK are
advising people to:- l) Stay out of the sun, especially during the middle
of the day when the sun's rays are at their strongest. 2) Cover up - wear
a t-shirt and wide-brimmed hat. Don't forget to protect your eyes. 3)
Use sunscreen with at least SPF 15. Apply generously and often and at
least 20 minutes before going out in the sun.4) Take special care with
babies and young children. Babies under six months should be kept out
of the sun. Research has shown that people who were sunburned during childhood
are at greater risk of developing skin cancer in later life. 5) Above
all - don't burn.
Sunburn can double
your risk of skin cancer and don't forget that the sun's rays can still
cause damage on cloudy days. For the period 1996-2000 just over nine per
cent of registered cases of skin cancer in Scotland were in the Lanarkshire
Health Board area. Between 1998-2002 almost nine per cent of deaths from
this disease in Scotland were recorded for the same area. The Trading
Standards Service carried out a project on sunscreens to find out if they
provide the level of sun protection which they claim to offer. Dave Roderick,
Trading Standards manager, said: "Sunscreens can often be very expensive.
It has been estimated that the cost of buying brand name sunscreens for
a family of four on a fortnight's holidays could be as much as £100. "A
range of sunscreens, including some of the cheaper brands available in
North Lanarkshire were purchased by Trading Standards officers and submitted
to the public analyst for testing. Despite the fact that some of the products
cost as little as 99p, there were no adverse test reports. "All products
sampled were found to provide the level of SPF claimed on the labelling
- a few provided slightly higher levels than those stated."
Anne Scott, the project
manager, added: "The results indicated that there are cheaper alternatives
to the expensive, well-known brands - so you don't have to shell out a
fortune to save your skin. Just make sure that you use a broad spectrum
sunscreen to protect you both from UVA and UVB and one with at least a
SPF of 15. Shop around, keep an eye open for special offers and buy from
a reliable source. Leaflets and 'infocards' are available from any of
the council's Consumer Advice Centres." Dave Roderick further advised:
"You don't have to go abroad to be at risk from skin cancer.
A study of Scots
skin cancer patients found that 34 per cent have never been abroad but
they had sunbathed at home. So whether you are lazing by the pool or on
the beach, shopping or sightseeing, working or relaxing in the garden,
playing or picknicking in the park, remember to stay safe in the sun and
protect your skin from cancer. And it is important to report any changes
to moles or any unusual marks or growths on your skin go your doctor right
away.
[Top]
Children
'at risk of skin cancer'-(Yahoo News-09/05/2004)
Over a third of parents
say their children have suffered sunburn, a survey reveals. The poll also
reveals that 41% like to see their children with a tan. Cancer Research
UK ,which commissioned the survey, said the findings showed many parents
were failing to take skin cancer warnings seriously. The findings were
published to mark a new public awareness campaign, which will see posters
in nurseries, GP surgeries and outlets of Boots. The poster, created for
Cancer Research UK's SunSmart campaign, has been designed to highlight
how quickly children's skin can burn in the sun. It features the slogan
"Kids Cook Quick" along with a picture of two sunburnt children sitting
on the beach. Some 19,000 posters will be distributed across the UK.
"This poster has been
created to help remind parents to protect their children," said campaign
coordinator Sara Hiom. "Our survey shows that just over three-quarters
of parents know that it's never OK for a child to go red in the sun, but
they may not always realise that young skin can burn very quickly, in
as little as 10 minutes. "Sometimes, even with the best intentions, we
can be caught out. "We hope the Kids Cook Quick slogan will stick in parents'
minds over the summer and remind them to make sure their children are
properly protected whenever they are in the sun, by following the SunSmart
code. "This means seeking shade in the middle of the day, covering up
with a hat, t-shirt and sunglasses, as well as using sunscreen that is
factor 15 or higher."
Dr Catherine Harwood,
consultant dermatologist for Cancer Research UK, urged parents to cover
children up when they are in the sun. "As children have much more opportunity
to play and take part in sports and other outdoor activities, they spend
far more time in the sun than adults. "Babies' and toddlers' skin is particularly
susceptible as their skin is thinner and produces less protective pigment.
"We get around 80% of our exposure to the sun before the age of 21. So
it is vital that parents are aware of the dangers and know how to protect
their children properly." The British Skin Foundation urged Britons to
cover up during the summer. "We must take care of ourselves by covering
up and using sunscreen with an SPF15 or above and SPF30 for children,
especially on the triangle area between the nose, chin and ears where
most tumours are found," said Dr Colin Holden, its spokesman.
[Top]
Significant
Opportunities for Anti-Cancer Immunotherapy Ad-IL2 Product Candidate-(AACR
Annual Meeting-14/04/2004)
Transgene reported
today the progress and encouraging data from its immunotherapy research
and development program of Ad-IL2 that were presented in poster sessions
at the 95th annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research
(March 27-31, 2004) in Orlando, FL. Transgene's two posters presented
data from the ongoing phase I/II clinical trial in patients with melanoma
and other solid tumors as well as results from pre-clinical experiments
in animal tumor models. "We were pleased to present these data at the
A.A.C.R. annual meeting," stated Jean Francois Carmier, Chief Executive
Officer of Transgene. "They indicate a promising potential for our Ad-IL2
cancer immunotherapy program.
In addition to the
initial results in the clinic of Ad-IL2, our pre-clinical data from the
combination with conventional therapies open up numerous therapeutic opportunities
for this product candidate. We are in the process of preparing a Phase
II trial for the beginning of next year." Phase I/II clinical trial: results
encourage expansion of the trial The Ad-IL2 immunotherapy product candidate
is being tested in patients with metastatic melanoma or with other advanced
solid tumors accessible to intra-tumoral injection. To date a total of
26 patients, 17 suffering from melanoma and nine from other solid tumors,
have received intra-tumoral administrations (2 to 19 injections) of Ad-IL2.
All the patients included in the trial have progressive disease refractory
to standard therapies.
[Top]
New
collaboration on skin and colon cancer-(Business Weekly- 25/03/2004)
Astex Technology and
the Sanger Institute have joined two of the country's leading cancer research
organisations in a drug discovery project aimed at combating skin and
colon cancer. Scientists from the Cancer Genome Project (CGP) at Sanger,
the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) and Cancer Research Technology
(CRT) will collaborate with Cambridge Science Park company Astex to identify
and develop novel drug candidates for major indications in oncology using
research garnered from the CGP. The world-class collaboration relates
to the discovery of novel drugs against the cancer target BRAF, first
identified as a key target implicated in a variety of cancers in 2002
when scientists from ICR and the CGP discovered that the gene was involved
in several cancers, including 70 per cent of malignant melanomas, one
of the deadliest forms of skin cancer. ICR, the Wellcome Trust and CRT
began a collaboration in 2003 to identify BRAF inhibitors; now Astex will
add expertise in fragment-based drug discovery to the collaboration.
The partners have
established a joint research team whose expertise spans fragment-based
drug discovery, cancer biology and the preclinical and clinical development
of cancer drugs. Astex CSO and founder, Dr Harren Jhoti, said: "This is
a world-class team in an important and exciting new therapeutic opportunity
for cancer. We look forward to developing novel drugs targeted against
BRAF and bringing these to the clinic quickly with the expert support
of our collaborators." Dr Ted Bianco, technology transfer director at
the Wellcome Trust, said: "There is excellent synergy between the collaborating
parties. Astex's structure-based approach to drug discovery is highly
complementary to the cancer therapeutic resources of the other parties.
In partnership we can speed-up the drug development process and reach
the clinic earlier."
Malignant melanoma
usually occurs in individuals who have been exposed to the sun, x-rays,
or ultraviolet (UV) light for prolonged periods. Although it accounts
for just 11 per cent of skin cancers, it is responsible for almost all
of its deaths. Incidence of malignant melanoma has doubled in the last
decade, with worldwide estimates in excess of 100,000 per annum, and is
responsible for more than 7,000 deaths in the US and 1,600 deaths in the
UK each year. The CGP began after the mapping of the human genome was
completed, looking at which of our 30,000 genes are involved in cancer.
Preliminary evidence that the BRAF gene was mutated was found within the
first 20 genes looked at; it was then studied in approximately 1,000 different
cancer samples. BRAF was found to be mutated in about 70 per cent of malignant
melanomas, 10 per cent of colon cancers and a smaller proportion of other
cancer types.
[Top]
'Harmless'
rays do 'cause cancer'-(Yahoo News-23/03/2004)
The finding suggests
sunscreens must protect against both UVA and UVB rays to provide proper
protection. University of Sydney researchers found UVA rays - which age
the skin, but do not burn - can cause DNA damage. The study, in Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences, contradicts the view that UVB rays
alone pose a cancer risk. Experts had thought that UBA rays pose less
of a problem, because, although they penetrate deeper than the shorter
wavelength UVB ways that cause sunburn, they were thought to have less
impact on DNA. However, the Australian researchers who examined skin tumours
found evidence that UVA rays had damaged cells in the deep basal keratinocyte
cell layer. The basal layer contains the mother cells that ensure continual
regeneration of the skin through cell division But the researchers believe
that UVB damage may be enough to make skin cells migrating out from this
region highly vulnerable to cancer.The
researchers, led by Dr Gary Halliday, wrote: "The predominance of UVA
mutations in the basal cell layer reinforces the pivotal role UVA may
play in the malignant transformation of human skin. "The importance of
protecting the population not just from UVB but also from UVA irradiation
has profound implications on public health worldwide."
The scientists examined
tissue samples from 16 patients being treated for two different types
of skin cancer at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown, Australia.
Both types of cancer showed greater signs of basal skin layer damage from
UVA than UVB rays. The vast majority of UVB mutations were in the outer
layers of the skin. They said the widespread use of UVB-blocking sunscreens
in Australia may have led to increased exposure to UVA. Dr Catherine Harwood,
a dermatologist at Cancer Research UK, said: "This is an important paper
which adds new data to the growing body of evidence pointing to a significant
role for UVA in the development of skin cancer. "Although experimentally
very thorough it is still a relatively small study, and the findings now
need to be confirmed in similar larger scale studies. "As the authors
point out, confirmation of such a role for UVA may have major
implications for public health initiatives to prevent skin cancer, as
it becomes increasingly clear that the protection from both UVA as well
as UVB is essential."
[Top]
Plan
to ban children from tanning salons-(Yahoo News-22/03/2004)
People aged under
16 could be banned from tanning salons, and coin-operated outlets could
be closed, under new proposals for the industry. Cancer Research UK's
new partnership with tanning salons is aiming to squeeze "rogue salons"
out of the business. For the first time, the charity has formally united
with the Sunbed Association, the watchdog which represents around 2000
parlours in the UK, in an effort to promote self regulation within the
sunbed sector. Skin cancer experts yesterday agreed that regulation, rather
than an outright ban, was the most effective way to minimise the risks
of sunbed use, which is believed to cause nearly 100 cases of melanoma
in the UK each year. Sara Hiom, who co-ordinates Cancer Research UK's
SunSmart campaign, said the charity hoped the partnership would encourage
sunbed users to visit parlours which are SA members and must comply with
the organisation's code of practice, rather than non-members which are
not obliged to follow safety guidelines. She said: "We are in talks because
we don't see legislation as the answer."
Until the negotiations
with the Sunbed Association, the charity has taken a hard line stance
against the tanning industry. However, Ms Hiom denied claims that the
charity's softer approach would undermine its warnings of the dangers
posed by sunbed use. She said: "The last thing we are doing is endorsing
sunbed use, and we have to be careful we make that clear. "You have to
accept that, no matter what you say, some people will continue to risk
using sunbeds. It is early days, but this is an alternative worth exploring."
With 70,000 cases
of skin cancer diagnosed in Britain each year, Cancer Research UK and
the Sunbed Association agreed plans to stop sunbeds being used by the
under-16s. They also called for coin-operated salons to be shut down and
want to see Europe-wide guidelines introduced for all other tanning businesses.
Both groups will take their plans forward at a summit later this month.
Although the watchdog represents only a quarter of the tanning facilities
in the UK, it hopes that the new strategy will encourage more operators
working to its code.
Professor James Ferguson,
a specialist in ultraviolet skin diseases at the photobiology unit at
Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, said the need for regulation was greater
than ever. He said: "There is an epidemic in skin cancer and there is
no doubt that artificial sources, such as sunbed parlours, have contributed
to that. "It is a move in the right direction. Banning is not feasible
and I would welcome any move towards self-regulation. "You can't tell
people not to do it, but what we need is regulation, education and control.
A lot of people who use sunbeds are in the younger end of the population
and don't realise the consequences. "Like cigarettes and alcohol, there
should be an age limit. Parental consent or accompanying adult would be
sensible." The British Medical Association also approve of self-regulation
as the best option.
[Top]
Catch
a cold, cure your skin cancer, Aussie scientists say-(AFP-06/01/2004)
The common cold virus
most people try their hardest to avoid is very likely to be the cure for
malignant melanoma, Australian scientists have discovered in a major breakthrough
announced hereA team of researchers at the University of Newcastle believe
they have made an exciting discovery in the treatment of the usually deadly
skin cancer of which Australia, with its hot sun, has the highest rate
in the world for its fair-skinned populace. "We have established that
melanoma cells can be destroyed by infecting them with a common cold virus,"
the lead researcher, associate professor Darren Shafren said. "We believe
this is a significant break-through in the development of the treatment
of melanoma. We are very excited about it." "The results we have had using
human cells and also in animal studies have been very exciting. If we
can replicate this success in human trials then it could be available
within a year or two." The research has just been published as the cover
story in the January 2004 edition of Clinical Cancer Research, the journal
of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Skin cancer is so
common here that it would be of huge benefit in a country in which one
in every two people will develop some form of the disease at some stage.
Some 300,000 Australians will visit a doctor this year to have a skin
cancer removed. Almost 9000 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed each year,
about 1000 Australians die of melanoma, which is the fifth most common
form of cancer. The projected process involves injecting the common cold
virus, the coxsackievirus, into the melanoma site, the virus replicates
itself and is expected then to start to kill off the melanoma. Shafron
says that within weeks, there is a reduction in the size of the melanoma
and it eventually disappears. "When the secondary action begins, we expect
the virus to circulate the body finding and killing off melanomas in the
same manner with the effect that it will seek out and kill melanomas that
may be undetectable," he added. "This is a community occurring virus,
not a manufactured drug or a genetically altered virus. We believe it
could even be effective for people with advanced melanoma." The work,
based on technology developed by the picornavirus department at the university
over the past four years, is being conducted at the local biotechnology
company ViroTarg's laboratory in the Royal Newcastle Hospital 150 kilometres
(95 miles) north of Sydney.
[Top]
Sunscreen
Does Not Increase Melanoma Risk-(Reuters Health-15/12/2003)
Although sunscreen
lotions were designed to shield people from the sun's harmful rays, recent
studies have hinted that sunscreen use might actually increase the odds
of developing melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. However, a
new report shows that people who regularly slather on the lotion can rest
easy. After reviewing the findings from 18 studies published between 1966
and 2003, investigators at the University of Iowa in Iowa City found no
convincing evidence that using sunscreen does anything to increase the
risk of melanoma. All of the studies included in the analysis compared
sunscreen habits of people diagnosed with melanoma to others who were
cancer-free. The report responds to a handful of recent studies that showed
that people who used sunscreen were more likely than people who didn't
to develop melanoma. Study author Dr. Leslie K. Dennis explained that
her review showed that most of the previous studies that reported an increased
risk of melanoma among sunscreen users did not account for the fact that
people who are most at risk for melanoma - such as those with fair skin
who burn easily - are also more likely to use sunscreen. Consequently,
many sunscreen users are more likely to develop cancer because of their
skin, and not because of their use of protective lotions, she noted. "Sunscreens
do not cause skin cancer," Dennis told Reuters Health.
The review, published
in the Annals of Internal Medicine, also failed to show that using sunscreen
reduced the risk of melanoma. Dennis noted that many of the people included
in the 18 studies had used older forms of sunscreen, manufactured before
the development of features such as sun protection factor (SPF), water-resistance
and blockers against different types of ultraviolet radiation. For instance,
research has shown that ultraviolet A radiation may be more likely to
trigger melanoma than ultraviolet B, and sunscreens did not start including
certain ultraviolet A-absorbing compounds until 1989. Dennis said that
she believed newer sunscreens do, in fact, protect people against melanoma
and other types of skin cancer, but that it may take many more years before
those benefits become apparent.
"A protective effect
of sunscreen use is not likely to be seen until these newer features have
been used for at least ten years," she noted. Dennis and her colleagues
write that investigations into sunscreen's ability to protect against
melanoma may be further muddied by the fact that some people use sunscreen
in order to stay out longer in the sun, which can itself increase the
risk of cancer. They add that sunscreen likely works best when used correctly,
and people looking to protect themselves from sun's harmful rays should
make sure to spend some time in the shade, use enough sunscreen, apply
it evenly and opt only for types that contain an SPF greater than 15.
For Dennis, the bottom line for sunscreen users is simple: keep using
it.
[Top]
Skin
Cancer Survival No Better with Interferon-(Reuters Health-10/12/2003)
Treatment with low-dose
interferon does not seem to improve the survival of patients who've undergone
surgery for melanoma, an often-deadly type of skin cancer, new research
suggests. "Questions remain as to whether (the drug works well enough)
to justify routine use," the investigators conclude. "After many years
of clinical research, there is good evidence that high-dose interferon
(helps prevent disease recurrences), but no clear evidence of the benefit
to overall survival," lead author Dr. Barry Hancock, from the University
of Sheffield in the UK, noted in a statement. In the current study, Hancock's
group assessed the outcomes of 674 patients who had their melanomas surgically
removed and then received either interferon or no further treatment for
two years or until their cancer returned. All of the patients had "high-risk"
melanomas based on the severity of their cancer. The results are published
in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
The five-year overall
and recurrence-free survival rates were 44 percent and 32 percent, respectively,
and the rates did not differ much between the two study groups. Moreover,
this held true when the groups were compared by disease severity, age
and sex. Predictors of decreased overall survival included male gender
and cancer spread to nearby lymph nodes. In contrast, age was not an important
prognostic factor. Although severe interferon-related toxicities were
relatively rare, 50 patients did withdraw from treatment due to the toxic
effects, the researchers point out. "This study confirms that optimal
care for patients with high-risk melanoma is still not clear," Dr. Lynn
Schuchter, author of an accompanying editorial, said in a statement. "The
challenge now is to go beyond these results -- to develop more innovative
and efficient (studies), and better identify those patients at risk of
recurrence based upon...genetic factors," Schuchter, from the University
of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, added.
[Top]
Skin
Cancer Melanoma Rare in Children Treated with Radiation-(Reuters Health-28/11/2003)
Radiation treatments
for childhood cancers are unlikely to lead to malignant melanoma, according
to a new study. Certain long-term studies have suggested that as many
as 10 percent of childhood cancer survivors may subsequently develop tumors,
and there also have been reports of an increase in childhood and adolescent
melanomas. However, following the study, Dr. Florent de Vathaire, of the
National Institute of Public Health and Medical Research, Villejuif, France
said, "our conclusion is that radiation-induced melanoma exists as a complication
of, but is rare." Led by de Vathaire, the researchers studied about 30,000
children treated for a cancer from Nordic countries, the UK and France.
The results are reported in the November issue of the European Journal
of Cancer. They found that as children survive longer after cancer, the
risk of subsequent cancers increases. However, there were only 16 cases
of malignant melanoma in about 20 years, and those occurred only in areas
of the skin that had received large doses of radiation. Thus, de Vathaire
concluded, radiotherapy "may not be considered as a public health problem
for survivors of a childhood cancer."
[Top]
Studies
Find Higher Cancer Risk in Airline Crews-(HealthDayNews-23/10/2003)
A new set of studies
adds to evidence that flight crews face an increased occupational risk
of developing cancer. Three studies, using data from air crews in two
Nordic countries and involving several thousand cabin crew members, all
point to an increased risk associated with working for long periods above
the clouds. In one study, researchers from Iceland studied cabin crews
for malignant melanoma, one of the most deadly and aggressive skin cancers.
They surveyed more than 1,000 pilots and cabin attendants and 2,000 others
randomly selected from the general population, asking about physical and
lifestyle risk factors. They found men who flew for a living doubled their
chances of developing the condition, and women were at 3.5 times the increased
risk.
"While there have
been other studies that have shown higher incidences of skin cancer in
air crews, this is one of the first to try to adjust for sunbathing and
other lifestyle factors," says study author Dr. Vilhjalmur Rafnsson, a
professor of preventive medicine at the University of Iceland. "And it
shows that occupational risks are indeed a significant factor.All our
routes here are in higher exposure zones, which are about double that
of the equator, and that is important. Many people say that the amount
of radiation is not a lot, but cosmic radiation has significantly greater
amounts of neutron activity. There is a lot of uncertainty about the effects
of these neutrons, which are more biologically active than other types
of ionizing neutrons."
Another Icelandic
study of more than 1,500 female flight attendants, 35 of whom went on
to develop breast cancer, also suggests that the occupation may be an
significant factor in that disease as well. Researchers in that study,
which looked at more than 40 years of flying crew data, found women crew
members who had worked in those positions for five or more years before
1971 were five times as likely to develop breast cancer as those who had
been in service for less time before this date. The association remained
after adjusting for reproductive factors.
And a Swedish study
found that while the overall incidence of cancer was only slightly higher
than the general population, incidences of malignant melanoma among both
male and female cabin crew was two to three times higher. Moreover, it
also discovered additional increases in incidences of other skin cancers
among the male flight crew. However, while that study found female flight
attendants had a 30 percent increased risk of breast cancer, this was
not statistically significant when adjusted, and researchers could not
find any link between length of employment or cumulative hours worked.
This led them to question whether other factors, such as reproductive
patterns, might be contributory factors. "While we don't have the confidence
that this higher rate is related directly to occupational factors," says
study author Dr. Anette Linnersjö, of the Stockholm Center of Public Health,
"it probably is a real increase because other studies showed similar results.
It could also be explained by time lag or disruption of the body's rhythm.
We haven't enough data on exposure."
Researchers found
that jet planes, which gained prevalence after 1971, fly higher in the
atmosphere and for longer periods of time, routinely exposing crews to
cosmic radiation for long periods -- often 14 hours or more at a time.
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, wrote the average amount of exposure
to ionizing radiation has increased over time due to this trend. She went
on to suggest that irregular working hours and disturbances to the body's
internal clock could also play a role in predisposing some to ill health.
"But the question still remains whether the increased risk found in these
studies is due to work or lifestyle factors," she wrote. "The research
does not yet provide definitive answers." Nevertheless, Whelan concluded:
"The evidence that flight crew are at increased risk for certain types
of cancer is growing, and current concerns about potential hazards in
this occupation are not without basis." The findings appear in the November
issue of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
[Top]
Skin
Cancer Prevention Recommendations Released-(Reuters Health-16/10/2003)
To help prevent skin
cancer, schoolchildren should be taught to take cover from the sun by
wearing hats and other protective clothing, new guidelines advise. Schools,
recreational areas and tourist attractions are all good places to get
out the skin cancer prevention message, according to the Task Force on
Community Preventive Services. Faced with rising rates of skin cancer
in the U.S., the independent panel, which is supported by the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, reviewed
published research to find out what programs are effective at getting
people to "cover up" to protect themselves from the sun. The task force
found that skin cancer prevention efforts at grade schools and recreational
locations, such as public swimming pools, are effective.
One aim of the report
was to help public officials "try to concentrate on things that have been
shown to work," said Dr. Mona Saraiya, a medical epidemiologist at the
CDC's division of cancer prevention and control. She told Reuters Health
that more research is needed to test the effectiveness of prevention efforts
in other locations, including child care centers, high schools and colleges,
workplaces and media and community awareness programs. "That doesn't mean
that they don't work," she said, just that they have not been studied
enough.
Cases of melanoma,
the rarest but most dangerous form of skin cancer, have increased dramatically
during the past two decades, as have deaths from the disease. The CDC
predicts that more than 54,000 people will be diagnosed with melanoma
this year, and 7,600 people will die from it this year. The CDC estimates
that there will be more than 1 million new cases of the other two main
skin cancers, basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Despite
the rise in skin cancer, surveys have found that only about one out of
every three Americans takes steps to reduce sun exposure. Anyone can develop
skin cancer, but factors that increase the risk include a family history
of the cancer, fair skin and red or blonde hair. People who burn easily
and do not tan are also more susceptible to skin cancer.
Although sunscreens
can reduce exposure to the ultraviolet (UV) radiation that is linked to
cancer, slathering on some lotion is not enough for preventing skin cancer,
according to experts. In fact, some studies suggest that sunscreen use
can be harmful if people spend more time in the sun because they feel
protected, according to the report. In addition to sunscreen, other ways
to minimize UV exposure include wearing wide-brimmed hats, long sleeve
shirts and long pants, and sunglasses that block UV rays. Staying in the
shade and avoiding the sun when its rays are strongest -- between 10 a.m.
and 4 p.m. -- are also recommended. The guidelines, which appear in the
CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, are being released in conjunction
with a recommendation put together by the U.S. Preventive Services Task
Force. That group concludes that there is insufficient evidence to evaluate
the effectiveness of doctors at encouraging patients to reduce sunlight
exposure. "Counseling parents may increase the use of sunscreen for children,
but there is little evidence to determine the effects of counseling on
other preventive behaviors," the report concludes.
[Top]
Selenium
May Raise Skin Cancer Risk-(Reuters Health-01/10/2003)
In patients with
a history of skin cancer other than melanoma, the use of selenium supplements
does not appear to prevent the recurrence of two other types of skin cancer--basal
cell and squamous cell cancer--and may actually raise the risk of squamous
cell cancer, new research suggests. The initial results from the Nutritional
Prevention of Cancer Trial reported in 1996 showed that selenium use did
not influence the rate of nonmelanoma skin cancer in individuals who were
at risk for this type of cancer. However, the new findings, which are
based on three additional years of follow-up, suggest that use of the
selenium, an antioxidant, may promote certain cancers. These findings
run counter to the results of animal studies that indicate a protective
effect for selenium and other antioxidants.
The study, reported
in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, involved 1312 patients
with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer who were randomly assigned to
receive daily supplementation with selenium 200 micrograms or placebo
("sugar pill"). In agreement with the initial results, selenium use was
not associated with the risk of basal cell cancer, study author Dr. James
R. Marshall, from the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York,
and colleagues note. However, use of the antioxidant seemed to raise the
risk of squamous cell cancer, the researchers state. Selenium users were
25% more likely to develop this malignancy than nonusers. These findings
should be viewed along with the overall impact of selenium supplementation
as a potential cancer-preventing agent, the authors note. Prostate cancer
prevention trials that are now underway, including one testing selenium
supplementation in men with precancerous cells in the prostate, "will
help to clarify this overall impact," they add.
[Top]
Aspirin
May Help Treat Rare Skin Cancer - Research-(Reuters-13/08/2003)
Aspirin might help
treat a rare form of cancer that causes huge mushroom-shaped tumors to
grow out of the body's hair follicles and sweat glands, scientists said.
Writing in the medical journal Nature, the scientists said aspirin's anti-inflammatory
properties could help combat cylindromatosis, an inherited form of skin
cancer also known as turban tumor syndrome. People who have the syndrome
suffer from inflamed skin tissue which releases a host of molecules that
may help keep cancer cells alive, they said. Aspirin reduces the inflammation
and therefore might help to starve the cancer cells. The research is contained
in three studies carried out independently in the Netherlands, Greece
and Israel. All three are published in Nature. George Mosialos, head of
the Greek team, said the research might also prove useful for the treatment
of other types of cancer. "It could be used for certain types of leukemia
and lymphomas." Mosialos told Reuters.
Cylindromatosis produces
distinctive mushroom-shaped tumors which grow out of the scalp and other
hairy parts of the body. While the tumors are benign, they can cause terrible
disfigurement and, if untreated, can turn into life-threatening malignant
cancers. "It's important that we put the theory to test in patients as
soon as we can," Cancer Research UK's Professor Alan Ashworth said in
a statement. "In the case of turban tumor syndrome, we think anti-inflammatory
drugs could be rubbed into tumors in gel form in order to shrink them,"
he said. "We know inflammation can play a role in the development of a
number of other cancers too, so it could be that aspirin will find a range
of uses as a cancer treatment."
[Top]
New
Target for Skin Cancer Confirmed-(ET-15/07/2003)
A University of Minnesota
study has confirmed the pivotal role of an enzyme known as JNK2 in the
development of nonmelanoma skin cancers. The findings suggest that JNK2
should be evaluated as a target for the prevention and treatment of such
cancers. Lead author Zigang Dong, director of the university's Hormel
Institute in Austin, Minn., presented the work on July 13, 2003, at the
American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Washington, D.C. Ultraviolet
rays from the sun are the major culprit in skin cancer, which accounts
for more than half the cancers in the United States. The process of cancer
development involves a chain of interactions among biochemicals in the
skin, and biochemicals that play key roles in carcinogenesis make potential
therapeutic targets.
Many human cancers
show elevated activity in some form of JNK enzyme, and the enzyme is also
activated by sunlight, Dong said. "Even if one goes into the sun for a
few minutes, the activity of JNK in the epidermis rises," said Dong. "If
you go out for a few minutes, JNK activity doesn't stay elevated. But
it looks as though if a person gets too much sun exposure, JNK activity
becomes permanently elevated and cancers develop. This study indicates
that some form of JNK activity is a key step in the process by which nonmelanoma
cancers grow." Working with mice, Dong and his colleagues focused on two
enzymes known to be activated by factors that cause cells to divide and
that have been considered important in skin cells' response to UV light.
Of the two enzymes,
called JNK1 and JNK2, only the latter turned out to play an important
role in the development of tumors. The researchers used two lines of mice
that had been rendered enzyme-deficient by inactivation of the gene for
either JNK1 or JNK2 in fertilized mouse eggs. When the mice were two months
old, the scientists applied a chemical carcinogen to the skin of their
backs, followed by five-times-a-week exposure to UVB light, the ultraviolet
light that causes skin cancer. At 31 weeks of age, a much smaller percentage
of JNK2-deficient mice had tumors (18 percent), compared to control mice
(48 percent) or JNK1-lacking mice (50 percent). At 40 weeks of age, the
percentage of tumor-bearing JNK2-deficient mice had almost doubled, to
35 percent, while the percentage rose more slowly in control mice (to
56 percent) and JNK1-deficient mice (to 73 percent). The data suggest
that when JNK2 is lacking, skin cells are inhibited, or at least delayed,
in their response to UVB light. "Knocking out the JNK2 enzyme could simply
delay the response to ultraviolet light, but if so, it would be significant,"
Dong said. "If we age enough, every one of us will get cancer. But if
we can delay the process, that's good progress." The researchers also
studied the biochemistry of skin and embryonic cells from the mice. They
found that UVB light and a chemical known to promote tumor formation induced
biochemical activity associated with cell division and tumor growth in
control mice and JNK1-deficient mice, but not in JNK2-deficient mice.
[Top]
Australia
close to perfecting anti-melanoma treatment, vaccine-(AFP-23/06/2003)
A melanoma treatment
developed in Australia could be available within five years after a number
of terminal patients had been declared free of the disease in early trials.
Queensland's state government said phase three trials of an anti-melanoma
vaccine, the final hurdle before the product could be registered, were
now under way. The development was unveiled by Queensland's state premier
Peter Beattie to a Washington medical conference and in a statement released
here simultaneously. The treatment had the potential to prevent hundreds
of thousands of deaths around the world, he said.
Queensland, which
boasts that it is Australia's "sunshine state", has the highest rates
of melanoma in a country with one of the worst rates of the cancer in
the world because of its largely light-skinned European population and
a climate which ranges from warm in the south to tropical in the north.
One in 25 Queenslanders reportedly develop melanoma at some stage during
their lifetime. Beattie said Queensland was now "leading the way in the
global race to find a treatment for this very malignant skin cancer".
The human trials follow recent registration by the Therapeutic Goods Administration,
Australia's drug regulator, allowing the Queensland Institute of Medical
Research to produce and supply drugs for use in phase one, two and three
trials. The trial's principal investigator, Chris Schmidt, said the latest
placebo-controlled trial would treat 200 patients with melanoma from around
Queensland. Schmidt said researchers hoped to have the results of the
trial within five years. "Depending on the results, the anti-melanoma
vaccine could be available in hospitals shortly afterwards," he said.
He said even with surgery, 75 percent of melanoma patients with disease
which had spread to other parts of the body, relapsed to the terminal
stage.
[Top]
Childhood
Sunburn Can Lead to Skin Cancer Later-(HealthScoutNews-08/06/2003)
Most parents wouldn't
dream of handing their children a dangerous toy or feeding them tainted
food. Yet, many otherwise loving and caring parents put their kid's lives
at risk simply by sending them outdoors to play in the summer sun. The
reason is skin cancer. And experts say that if you let your children spend
even a short amount of time outside without protection from the sun, you're
increasing their risks of this disease by a generous proportion. "Anytime
you get a sunburn, at any age, your risk of skin cancer goes up. But get
that burn before the age of 18, and your risks go up dramatically -- and
the more times a child experiences sunburn or even sun damage caused by
a tan, the greater their future risk of skin cancer," says Dr. Darrell
Rigel, a dermatologist from New York University Medical Center.
One reason, Rigel
says, is the cancer-causing effects of the sun are cumulative. Simply
put, the earlier that sun damage to the skin starts -- which can happen
with a tan as well as a burn -- the more likely your child is to reach
the level of cellular damage that translates into skin cancer. But that's
not the only reason children need to be protected from the sun. Because
a child's immune system is not fully developed, Rigel says, they don't
have the kind of biochemical defense mechanism that normally helps an
adult's body catch at least some of the cells damaged by the sun and repair
them before cancer has a chance to develop. "As a result, over time those
cells damaged in childhood become an adult skin cancer," Rigel says.
Earlier this year,
research conducted at Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston
was even more specific in pinpointing the dangers to children. According
to Dr. Lynda Chin, it may all come down to the recently discovered Rb
pathway -- a series of biochemical signals that can sense when damage
occurs in a skin cell and immediately shut down its ability to duplicate
itself. "In this way, the Rb pathway can help stop tumors from forming,"
says Chin, an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School.
However, the more sun exposure you have, particularly at a young age,
the more likely it is the Rb pathway will become damaged and no long able
to sense when a skin cell is in trouble. Essentially, "the suns rays inactivate
the built-in protection, allowing melanoma to grow," Chin says.Indeed,
the American Academy of Dermatology confirms that nearly two-thirds of
all melanoma skin cancers are related to sun exposure, and up to 80 percent
of that exposure usually occurs during childhood. The American Cancer
Society estimates that more than 54,000 new cases of melanoma skin cancer
will be diagnosed in 2003, and some 7,600 new deaths will occur from this
disease this year.
One way to protect
your children is to make certain they wear a sunscreen with a sun protection
factor (SPF) of at least 15, and to make sure they use the product correctly.
"This means using enough sunscreen to cover all exposed areas of the body,
and putting it on at least 30 minutes before going outside," says Dr.
Ted Daly, a dermatologist at Nassau University Medical Center in New York.
"Sometimes, we recommend a number 30 sunscreen because people generally
put on less than they should," Daly says. So, even if you're stingy with
your application of SPF 30, you'll still get the benefits of SPF 15 wherever
the sunscreen is applied. Daly also reminds parents to make certain children
reapply sunscreen after bathing, or after participating in any activity
that can cause them to sweat off the protection.
Although parents
are often present when a young child goes outdoors, experts suggest this
may not be the case as the child grows older. No longer under your watchful
eye, skipping a sunscreen can be far too easy -- particularly at sporting
events or summer camp. The solution: Teach your children well, beginning
as early as possible, about the need for sunscreen. "It's not enough to
just put the sunscreen on your child, you have to also teach them about
sun protection so, as they get a little older, they'll remember to keep
on using it -- even when you're not around to remind them," Daly says.
Although sunscreen can go a long way in protecting your child, experts
from the American Academy of Dermatology say it won't do the whole job.
Both Daly and Rigel urge parents to enlist at least one other form of
protection for their children, including hats, sunglasses and T-shirts,
particularly at the beach. Also, remember that sunburns can happen in
the shade of a beach umbrella, or even on a cloudy day. So keep a keen
eye on any color changes in your children's skin while they're outdoors.
"It can take up to 12 hours for a sunburn to become apparent, so a child
that looks a little pink in the afternoon might end up with a red sunburn
by the next morning," Rigel says. So, he says, get them indoors the minute
you see a change in skin color.
[Top]
New
Treatments On Horizon For Melanoma-(ET-30/04/2003)
Melanoma
is all too often a deadly disease. While it accounts for less than 5%
of all skin cancers, it is responsible for more than 75% of skin cancer
deaths. This is because it is very difficult to treat once it has spread
beyond where it started. But the knowledge gained over the past few decades
may soon lead to new, more effective forms of treatment for the disease.
Most of these new treatments, such as cancer vaccines now in development,
try to use the body's immune system to attack the cancer cells. Immunotherapy
has thus far had a limited role in treating cancer, but it is one of the
most promising areas of cancer research, especially in melanoma.
This cancer seems
to be especially well suited for research with immunotherapy treatments
for several reasons:
· Once it has spread,
the survival rates are low, largely because melanoma does not respond
well to traditional therapies such as radiation and chemotherapy.
· There is
some evidence that melanoma tumors can be controlled by the immune system.
For example, in rare cases melanomas have been known to simply go away
on their own. Most scientists think this is due to some type of immune
reaction against the cancer.
· Two of the more effective treatments now used for melanoma, interferon
alpha and interleukin-2, work by revving up the patient's immune system,
and cause tumor shrinkage in a small percentage of advanced melanomas.
With these factors in mind, researchers have been trying to make vaccines
against melanoma for many years, often with mixed results.
What Is a Cancer
Vaccine? Most people are familiar with the vaccines given during childhood
to prevent certain diseases, such as measles and mumps. These vaccines
work by teaching the body's immune system to recognize a specific invader,
such as a virus, so the body can resist infection if exposed to it in
the future. Cancer vaccines operate on the same principle, attempting
to prime the immune system to combat a disease. But there are some important
differences. Most cancer vaccines now in development are not meant to
prevent disease, but to stop it from returning after most or all of it
has been removed during surgery. Viruses and bacteria look very different
from cells in the body, so the immune system has a relatively easy time
recognizing them as "foreign." It knows they don't belong in the body,
so it doesn't take much prodding to stimulate an attack on these organisms.
Cancer cells, on the other hand, look a lot like normal cells, so the
immune system has a harder time distinguishing between the two. The trick
is to find something different about the cancer cells and make the immune
system aware of this. But this has not proved to be an easy task. Scientists
have used a variety of techniques to try to get the immune system to attack
melanoma cells, and each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Whole Cell Vaccines:
The simplest technique has been to use whole, killed melanoma cells as
a vaccine. There are two possible sources of such cells. The vaccine can
be made from a person's own melanoma cells (removed during surgery), which
is known as an autologous vaccine. These have the advantage of having
all of the needed "flags" (antigens) on the cell surfaces to cause the
immune system to respond. But because the immune system has already seen
these cells and has not killed them off, they have to be chemically modified
and usually must be given along with an immune booster to make them more
effective. Other disadvantages with such personalized vaccines include
the expense to make them, and the fact that some people do not have enough
cells removed during surgery to make an adequate amount of vaccine. Still,
early results have shown that some people seem to live longer when given
the vaccine. At least one such vaccine, known as M-VAX, is now in late-stage
clinical trials, the results of which should be available within the next
few years.
The other sources
of tumor cell vaccines are melanoma cells taken either from other patients
or grown in a lab. These are known as allogeneic vaccines. Two such vaccines
are now in large clinical trials - Canvaxin (which combines three types
of irradiated melanoma cells) and Melacine (which uses two types of melanoma
cells that have been split apart to expose more antigens). A recent review
of previous studies of Canvaxin showed it may increase survival time.
The largest study of Melacine to date did not find an overall survival
advantage, but did find a benefit in people with specific immune system
characteristics, which may be explored in further studies.
Newer Vaccines: In
the last decade, scientists have come to understand more about what makes
melanoma cells different from other cells, as well as about how the immune
system works. These discoveries have led to newer, more specific types
of vaccines, which are now entering clinical trials. Many of the "flags"
on cell surfaces (known as antigens) that are unique to melanoma cells
have been identified, and researchers are now making vaccines composed
of one or more of these antigens. These might have the advantage of more
specifically activating the immune system. (Whole cell vaccines, on the
other hand, may not have enough of these antigens, and have many unneeded
antigens.) Other vaccines use pieces of antigen DNA, which are taken up
by cells in the body and provide a more constant source of antigen exposure
to the immune system. Still others involve taking immune system cells
out of the body, where they can be exposed to the antigens in the lab
and then reintroduced into the body. Most of these vaccines use dendritic
cells, which are a very powerful type of immune system cell. Researchers
recently had success with a similar technique that involved taking immune
system cells known as tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from surgically
removed tumors, growing them in the lab, and reinjecting them. While only
a small number of patients were treated with this approach, almost all
had their tumors shrink.
Promising But Not
Yet Ready: Unfortunately, no vaccine has yet received FDA approval for
treating melanoma, so these therapies are currently available only through
clinical trials. But with the wealth of new techniques being explored
to help treat melanoma, the outlook for advanced cases will undoubtedly
improve.
Outdoor Exercise
Can Be Dangerous: Doctors are always touting the benefits of exercise.
But there can be a downside, if you like to exercise outside -- exposure
to the sun can lead to skin cancer. Skin cancer is more common in Texas
than many other states. Doctors said that the reason is simple. The closer
you get to the equator, the more damage the sun can do. Time is also an
issue. From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., the sun is right overhead, which means
the rays are more intense. So doctors advise that people should take precautions
when exercising outside. The right clothing can make a big difference.
"Clothing you can't see the sunlight through is better than thinner clothing
you can see through," said Dr. Jeffery Lee, with M.D. Anderson Cancer
Center. Dark and bright colors are better than pale ones since they absorb
UV rays, according to experts. "The brighteners in our detergents are
probably good because they also increase the amount of UV radiation absorbed
by clothing and reduce the risk," Lee said.
But prevention is
only the beginning, doctors said. Having someone literally watch your
back may be the thing that saves your life. "The buddy system is good,
you know, especially people who have experienced what we have been through,"
said Brad Bowers, who had skin cancer. A friend of Bowers pointed out
a mole on his back that turned out to be melanoma. "Every time we have
a blistering sunburn before the age of 18, we increase the chance we will
develop melanoma," Lee said. The cancer was successfully removed from
Bowers. But he knows to be careful since melanoma has a high reoccurrence
rate. Half of those who reach 65 years of age will get skin cancer, according
to statistics.
Sunscreen Important
For Protection: Skin cancer is the leading killer of people in their 20s
and 30s, according to doctors. In fact, many physicians said that they
are seeing more cases of skin cancer in younger patients. Melanie Gould
was diagnosed with the disease when she was 14 years old. Now, the letters
"SPF" have an important meaning for her. SPF stands for sun protection
factor. She has to wear it at all times. "It has become something I do
on a regular basis with moisturizer and lotion on my arms and legs," Gould
said. The skin cancer was found when Gould went in to have a mole removed
from her leg. "I have never heard of anyone having skin cancer at such
a young age and I just thought that old people had it and it was just
something that got sliced off at the dermatologists and that was it. It
was a huge shock," Gould said. Remembering to wear sunscreen daily has
become a lot easier since so many products include it. Sunscreen was added
to products for other reasons than preventing prevent skin cancer, according
to cosmetic industry experts. Jennifer Phillips is Nordstrom's skin care
manager. She said that sunscreen helps fight the effects of aging. "It
is in your moisturizer. It is in your foundation," Phillips said. Newer
products on the market make it easier to get a tan without sun damage.
It's a tan in the bottle.
Dr. Paul Mansfield,
with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, said that he would like to see fewer
people hitting tanning beds. "I mean, it is deadly and it is just something
you should be concerned about. So wear some sunscreen and cover up and
don't go to tanning beds," Mansfield said.
Use Buddy To Find
Problems: One in six people will be diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma
in their lifetime. One in 75 will face melanoma. When it comes to protecting
yourself against skin cancer, a buddy can be your best bet, according
to doctors. The reason is because the cancer often grows where you cannot
see it. Richard Broderick's wife noticed his. "There is a mole on my back
my wife noticed," Broderick said. "It can be found anywhere on your skin.
Not just on your face or arms -- areas that are exposed. And I think that
is an important myth to dispel," said Dr. Ronald Rapini, with M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center. On men, skin cancer is most commonly found on the back.
That's where Dustin Gragg, 22, found his. "It kind of itched and I'd go
scratch. I would use the corner of a wall to scratch my back because I
couldn't reach it," Gragg said. On women, melanoma is most commonly found
on the lower leg. "So people think it is going to be in the sun-exposed
areas but melanoma is commonly in a covered-up area," Rapini said.
Another often-overlooked
trouble spot is underneath hair. Research found that while 80 percent
of the more benign skin cancers, called basal and squamous cell, turn
up in sun-exposed areas, the more deadly type of skin cancer appears where
covered areas or pale skin is exposed to large amounts of sun. Approximately
20 percent of people diagnosed with melanoma die, so early detection is
the key to beating this type of cancer, doctors said. Many of the patients
checked at M.D. Anderson's Melanoma Skin Center said that they were encouraged
or even nagged to visit the doctor by their "buddy." For many, it saved
their lives.
Skin Cancer Affects
All Skin Colors: One of the myths of skin cancer is that people of color
do not get the disease. It's a deadly mistake, according to doctors. Patrick
Robertson, who is African American, first noticed a dark spot on his foot
while he was in the eighth grade. But it did not start growing until three
years ago. "It slowly got bigger over the years. Then it got thick," Robertson
said. Now, Robertson has a melanoma the size of a golf ball on his foot,
which spread to his lymph nodes. "I used to say, 'Oh nothing's wrong.
It is going to go away.' But shoot, it turned out to be melanoma," Robertson
said. Like many African Americans, Hispanics and Asians, he did not think
he could get skin cancer. "They think because they belong in the Hispanic
group or Asian group, they (have) no risk for skin cancer. They are at
lower risk of skin cancer, but it does not imply zero risk," said Dr.
Tri Nguyen, with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Since it is more rare for
minorities to get skin cancer, patients tend to come in when the cancer
is in a later stage, according to doctors. "They are found at later stages.
They have a high mortality and a worse prognosis for all types of skin
cancer, but especially melanoma," Nguyen said. Another problem -- skin
cancer in minorities can look different and is typically found in different
areas of the body, according to doctors. "(It's important) to exam fingers
and toes -- areas you wouldn't think you would get skin cancer," Nguyen
said. But doctors said that the biggest obstacle is cultural. Hispanics
and Asians often don't believe they are sick unless they have symptoms.
But skin cancer doesn't have any symptoms until it spreads.
[Top]
Organ
Transplants May Carry Cancer Danger-(Associated Press-06/04/2003)
Five patients who
developed skin cancer after an organ transplant may have received cancer
seed cells from the donor, researchers report. The cancer, Kaposi's
sarcoma, is caused by a virus that the body usually can eliminate. It has
become associated with the AIDS epidemic because the virus affects people
with weakened immune systems. Kaposi's sarcoma appears in about one out of
every 200 transplant recipients - 400 to 500 times the rate of the general
population. It had been thought the virus was able to take hold in these
patients because their immune systems were suppressed to prevent rejection
of the new organ.
But a European
research team has found evidence that, at least in some transplant
patients, seed cells for the cancer tumors seem to have originated in the
organ donor. The findings of the team led by Patrizia Barozzi and Mario
Luppi of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Modena, Italy, are
reported in the journal Nature Medicine.The study shows that "tumor
cells from the organ donor can contribute to one of the most frequent
transplant-related malignancies," Patrick S. Moore of the University
of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute said in an accompanying article. He was not
part of the research team.
Weeks ago, Scottish
doctors reported on two cases of patients developing the skin cancer
melanoma from transplanted kidneys even though the donor was successfully
treated for the cancer many years earlier. Transfer of cancer from a
donated organ to a transplant patient is rare, and the chances of it
happening long after the donor was treated were thought to be extremely
unlikely. In the cases involving Kaposi's sarcoma, researchers studied
eight patients - six women and two men - who received kidneys from male
donors and who developed Kaposi's sarcoma nine months to 40 months later.
In analyzing the
cancer cells from the women, the researchers detected Y-chromosome DNA in
four cases. DNA is the molecule that determines a human's development.
Women have two X-chromosomes while men have one X- and one Y-chromosome.
Thus, the presence of the Y-chromosome DNA in the women's cancer indicates
that the cells originated with a male. There was no evidence of
Y-chromosomes in the cancer in the other two women or in normal cells from
any of the women. Using DNA analysis of the cancer cells in the men, the
researchers found that in one case the cancer DNA was related to that of
the donor. Kaposi's sarcoma can be treated by reducing or ending the
suppression of the patient's immune system, allowing it to battle the
cancer. That also can mean the immune system attacks the transplanted
organ, causing it to be rejected. Moore noted that the organ donors had no
symptoms of Kaposi's sarcoma, which suggests they are infected with the
cancer-causing virus but that their bodies destroy the cancer cells when
they form. Once the infected organ is transplanted into someone with a
weakened immune system, however, the cancer cells can grow and cause
disease.
[Top]
UK
Tops Australia in Skin Cancer Deaths-(Reuters-27/03/2003)
Australia has a
higher rate of the most deadly form of skin cancer but more people in
Britain die of the disease each year, cancer experts said. In the last
five years, 8,100 people in Britain have died from malignant melanoma
compared to 4,900 in Australia, according to the charity Cancer Research
UK. Dermatologists blame the high number of deaths in Britain on a lack of
public awareness about the disease and a failure of people to recognize
early symptoms. "Malignant melanoma is a preventable cancer. We need
the public to be aware of what they can do to help prevent the
disease," Dr. Charlotte Proby, a dermatologist with Cancer Research
UK, said in a statement.
Skin cancer is one
of the most common cancers in Britain. Most cases can be treated and are
unlikely to spread. But malignant melanoma, which accounts for less than
one in 10 skin cancers, is the most deadly form. Each year about 6,000
people in Britain are diagnosed with malignant melanoma, which usually
develops in cells in the outer layer of the skin but can spread to other
parts of the body. Cancer Research UK has joined forces with the
government to launch a campaign, similar to one in Australia, to inform
people about skin cancer and how to spot the early signs.
According to the
most recent figures, there were 7,850 cases of malignant melanoma
diagnosed and 1,000 deaths in one year in Australia, compared to 5,990 in
Britain and 1,600 deaths. "People there have been educated primarily
to protect themselves in the sun. They are also taught to take notice of
any unusual skin growths or changes in moles and to have them checked by a
doctor," said Proby. "This means where there is disease it is
diagnosed early and can be successfully treated," she added. Doctors
advise people to wear sunscreen, wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses to
protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays and to make sure they do
not burn. Parents are also advised to take extra care to protect their
children.
[Top]
Prevention
of
skin cancer-(BMJ Editorials-18/02/03)
Health promotion
strategies to prevent deaths from skin cancer, particularly melanoma,
have two components: advice on early recognition and advice on prevention.
The population is perhaps heeding advice on early recognition. Five year
survival from melanoma in England and Wales is improving, particularly
in female patients,1 probably because the cancer is diagnosed at an earlier
stage owing to increased public awareness. But the incidence of melanoma
is increasing in the United Kingdom and the United States; in the United
Kingdom it has doubled over the past 20 years. This contrasts with a falling
incidence in Australia, but it is not clear whether this difference is
attributable to the Australian prevention campaign having been active
for longer or whether prevention messages are less effective in the United
Kingdom.
By 1996, attitudes
among Australian students had already shifted positively towards avoiding
exposure to the sun and away from the use of sunscreen and desire for
a tan. In contrast, a study of 80 students in the United Kingdom published
in 2000 found that most emphasised positive benefits of sun exposure,
enjoyed sunbathing, protected themselves inadequately, and did not intend
to change this behaviour. Experts believe that 90% of non-melanoma skin
cancers and two thirds of melanomas may be attributed to excessive exposure
to the sun. Although no direct evidence shows that sunbeds cause skin
cancer, they are a source of intense exposure to ultraviolet radiation,
and according to a recent report from the National Radiological Protection
Board therefore represent a potential health risk.
Campaigns to prevent
skin cancer have incorporated numerous messages including the need to
avoid sunburn and generally reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation by
staying out of the midday sun, wearing protective clothing, seeking shade,
and applying sunscreen. In recent years the advice on sunscreen has included
recommendations for the use of broadband preparations with a higher sun
protection factor. Early health promotional material did not give greater
emphasis to any one means of protection over another. Little discussion
has taken place of the fact that skin tanned by ultraviolet radiation
is damaged skin or of the potential risks of using sunbeds. A tanned appearance
remains fashionable, and, although there has been a marked increase in
sales of self tanning lotions in western Europe and the United States
(market data, Euromonitor 2002), no evidence has shown that this is replacing
exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Despite having a good understanding
of the relation between overexposure to the sun and skin cancer, 81% of
Americans still think they look good after being in the sun.
Risk taking behaviour
with respect to exposure to the sun continues. The availability of sunbeds
on high streets in the United Kingdom seems to be increasing, but we could
find no sources of data on trends in access to and use of commercial sunbeds
to confirm this. The licensing by local authorities of commercial premises
in the United Kingdom offering cosmetic sunbed tanning depends on the
application of bylaws and is currently discretionary. Few local authorities
choose to license and data currently collected cannot be used to monitor
trends. The only data we could find to support the hypothesis that the
use of sunbeds is increasing was from one American tanning firm, whose
turnover rose from $2.8m (£1.8m; 2.8m) in 1990 to $15m in 2002. In the
absence of any other data these figures could alternatively represent
a changing market share. The equal emphasis placed on the use of sunscreen
versus avoiding exposure to the sun or wearing protective clothing in
early prevention campaigns in the United Kingdom may have led to confusion.
Surveys carried out in the United Kingdom have found that sunscreen is
regarded as the most important sun protection measure.
It is still unclear,
however, whether sunscreens effectively protect against skin cancer, and
concern has been raised that they may directly or indirectly increase
the risk of disease, primarily because of poor application and increased
exposure to the sun.6 Sunscreens with a high sun protection factor do
not always prevent sunburn, although they should if applied according
to the manufacturer's directions. The thickness of application has been
shown to be less than half that officially tested and key exposed sites
(neck, temples, and ears) are often missed completely. Although sunscreen
should be used to reduce exposure to ultraviolet radiation, evidence shows
that most people use it to facilitate a tan through longer duration of
exposure.
For children too,
despite the availability of new protective clothing and shades, sun protection
consists primarily of applying sunscreen and may actually result in an
increase in the time of exposure. So even if sunscreens are effective
at preventing sunburn, the concern is that they may be less effective
at reducing exposure to ultraviolet radiation and preventing skin cancer.
Strategies to prevent skin cancer in the United Kingdom and United States
have not resulted in a tanned appearance becoming less fashionable and,
although evidence shows increased sales of self tanning products, recent
studies still report high levels of risk taking behaviour with respect
to exposure to the sun and seeking a tan.
Studies also show
that in the United Kingdom sunscreen is being used as the main mode of
protection and that, contrary to advice, many people use sunscreen to
prolong exposure. The report from the National Radiological Protection
Board concludes that protection by sunscreens is less reliable than that
provided by reducing exposure through other means. It recommends that
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