By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, May 16 (HealthDay News) — A preliminary, first-stage study funded by a pharmaceutical company shows promising results for an experimental double-drug therapy for melanoma.
The two drugs, known as dabrafenib and trametinib, appeared to delay progression of the potentially deadly skin cancer with fewer side effects than an existing drug called vemurafenib (Zelboraf).
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, May 10 (HealthDay News) — Despite warnings about the dangers of excess sun exposure, young adults in the United States still get sunburned or use indoor tanning beds, federal health officials said Thursday.
Both activities increase the risk for skin cancer — the most common cancer among Americans — including potentially fatal melanoma.
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, May 7 (HealthDay News) — Doctors should take the time to counsel children, teens and young adults on the dangers of sun exposure and tanning beds, according to new recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
But rather than focus on skin cancer, discussions with young patients should center on how ultraviolet-ray exposure can damage the way their skin looks, the task force advised.
SUNDAY, May 6 (HealthDay News) — Adults and children should be screened routinely for changes in the appearance of their skin, experts advise.
Mount Sinai Medical Center researchers point out that regular visits to the dermatologist are just as important as trips to the dentist because they can provide clues as to what’s going on outside as well as inside the body.
MONDAY, April 16 (HealthDay News) — Surgery for non-melanoma skin cancer in the United States increased substantially from 2001 to 2006, mainly due to the increased use of a specific surgical procedure, a new study suggests.
Non-melanoma skin cancer forms in the outer layer of the skin or in skin squamous cells, but not in the cells that make pigment, according to the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) — As the war against cancer continues, a group representing U.S. oncologists has picked its “Top Five” list of advances in cancer care for 2011.
Leading the list are approvals for a bevy of new, targeted drugs for tough-to-treat malignancies, plus promising results suggesting CT chest scans may be an early-detection screen for lung cancer.
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9 (HealthDay News) — Doctors should appeal to young people’s vanity to convince them to reduce their sun exposure, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says in draft recommendations released Wednesday.
For example, showing people ages 10 to 24 how too much sun exposure can affect their looks now and later in life can be much more effective than warning them they’re at risk for skin cancer years from now, the task force said.
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Oct. 24 (HealthDay News) — Your morning coffee might do more than jump-start your day. Researchers say that daily caffeine jolt might also reduce your risk of developing a type of skin cancer.
Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, with nearly one million new cases diagnosed each year in the United States. A diet that contains even a small protective factor may have great public health impact, the researchers said.
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) — A trusted hairdresser may be privvy to your deepest secrets — your age, your real hair color and maybe even the name of your plastic surgeon. Your stylist also may be the first to spot the telltale signs of deadly skin cancer.
“Hairdressers and barbers can potentially play a key role in detection of early melanoma if they are trained on how to look at the skin for atypical moles and lesions while they are taking care of their customer’s hair,” said Alan C. Geller, a senior lecturer in Society, Human Development and Health at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and lead researcher of a new study.
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) — Zelboraf (vemurafenib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat a certain form of metastatic (spreading) melanoma, or cases that cannot be removed surgically, the agency said Wednesday.
The drug was approved to treat melanoma tumors with a gene mutation called BRAF V600E. Zelboraf was not studied in melanoma cases that did not include this abnormal gene, the FDA said in a news release.
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