Follow up helps detect melanoma earlier

Follow-Up Program Helps Detect Melanoma Earlier in High-Risk Patients – A follow-up program for patients at high risk of developing skin cancer appears to be associated with the detection of melanomas at early stages and with good prognosis.

Parents favor genetic testing for melanoma in their children

Parents favor genetic testing for melanoma in their children – The vast majority of parents who tested positive for a genetic mutation that increases the risk of melanoma (the most serious form of skin cancer) support genetic testing of their children or grandchildren. Results of the two-year study at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) appear in the December issue of the journal Genetics in Medicine. The data could lead to the establishment of formal, evidence-based guidelines for genetic testing of people younger than 18 years.

International clinical trial tests targeted drug for melanoma skin cancer

International clinical trial tests targeted drug for melanoma — Rush University Medical Center enrolls first US patient – Rush University Medical Center has just enrolled the first U.S. patient in an international clinical trial testing a novel drug to treat certain kinds of melanoma, a deadly skin cancer that in its advanced stages currently has few effective treatments.

Celebrex may prevent some non melanoma skin cancers

Celebrex may help prevent some non-melanoma skin cancers – New research shows the NSAID Celebrex may help prevent some non-melanoma skin cancers from developing in patients who have pre-cancerous actinic keratoses lesions and are at high risk for having the disease.

Natural plant sunscreen shows promise in preventing skin cancer

Grapes provide some of the natural agents studied in the prevention of skin cancer in mice at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. – Maybe you worshipped the sun in your youth or weren’t as meticulous as you should have been with sunscreen. If so, take heart: Scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio are finding that certain plant substances, when given in combinations, may suppress damage that can cause skin cancer.

Advance toward earlier detection of melanoma

Advance toward earlier detection of melanoma – Scientists are reporting development of a substance to enhance the visibility of skin cancer cells during scans with an advanced medical imaging system that combines ultrasound and light.

Folic acid and vitamin B12 have no beneficial effects in heart disease

Study examines outcomes of lowering homocysteine levels with folic acid and vitamin B12 – A new study revealed that the substantial long-term reductions in blood homocysteine levels with folic acid and vitamin B12 supplementation did not have beneficial effects on vascular outcomes but were also not associated with adverse effects on cancer incidence.

Refusal to prostate cancer surgery may impact survival

Patients who refuse prostate cancer surgery have worse long-term survival – Men who refuse surgery for prostate cancer and instead opt for “watchful waiting” ? monitoring cancer progression without undergoing treatment ? have a significantly worse long-term survival rate than those patients that choose radiotherapy, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Indoor tanning linked to melanoma

U of M study definitively links indoor tanning to melanoma — Nearly 2,300-person study shows no tanning is safe, regardless of age, gender or device – New research from the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health and Masonic Cancer Center definitively links the use of indoor tanning devices to increased risk of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer.

Vaccine hope for skin cancer sufferers

Vaccine hope for skin cancer sufferers – Nottingham scientists have been given the green light to test a vaccine which they hope could reverse, and even cure malignant melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer.

Health Newstrack