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News: May 28, 2012
Two-Drug Combo May Be Safe for Melanoma Treatment
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 ...
Many Young Adults at Risk of Skin Cancer: CDC
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 ...
Scientists Map Melanoma's Genome
WEDNESDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have completed the first genome sequencing of melanoma, an aggressive and frequently fatal form of skin cancer. Understanding the genomic landscape that contributes to melanoma development could pro...
Women More Likely to Survive Melanoma Than Men: Study
TUESDAY, May 1 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to surviving the skin cancer known as melanoma, nature appears to have dealt women a better hand than men, new research suggests. By almost every measure, an analysis of four European studies found ...
Even Young Teens Show Signs of Sun Damage
FRIDAY, April 13 (HealthDay News) -- In a new study that used a special type of photography to unveil hidden signs of sun damage, middle schoolers showed evidence of levels of UV exposure that could raise their risk for melanoma later in life. Not...
Melanoma Rates On the Rise Among Young Adults: Study
SUNDAY, April 1 (HealthDay News) -- New research highlights a dramatic increase in the rates of melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, among young adults, with young women being hit the hardest. According to the study, the incidence of...
Study Reveals Trigger That May Speed Melanoma Growth
WEDNESDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Growth of the deadly skin cancer melanoma may be triggered by the immune system turning on itself, according to a new study that also identified the mechanism that causes this to happen. Melanoma accounts fo...
Vitamin A Supplements Might Cut Melanoma Risk: Study
THURSDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- People who take vitamin A supplements might be cutting their risk of developing the deadly skin cancer melanoma, a new study suggests. Supplements of a type of vitamin A called retinol could be a protective ag...
Few U.S. Hispanics Screened for Skin Cancer
FRIDAY, May 25 (HealthDay News) -- Only one in 14 Hispanic adults in the United States has ever been screened for skin cancer, far fewer than the one in four whites screened, a new study finds. Socioeconomic factors such as lack of health insuranc...
Selenium Supplements May Help -- or Harm
TUESDAY, Feb. 28 (HealthDay News) -- While getting the right amount of selenium in your diet can boost your immune function and lower your risk of death, you can get too much of a good thing. Higher-than-normal levels of selenium may contribute to...
Many Still Tanning, Despite Dangers, Survey Finds
SUNDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) -- Despite public education efforts, many young adults still don't understand the dangers of sun exposure and tanning, a new U.S. survey finds. The nationwide online survey conducted by the American Academy of Derma...
Doctors Urge Routine Skin Screenings
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 i...
Targeted Drugs, Lung CT Screening Top Cancer Advances in 2011
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...
Chronic Bowel Disease Drugs Linked to Skin Cancer Risk
TUESDAY, Nov. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Some patients with inflammatory bowel disease may be at increased risk for skin cancer due to their use of immunosuppressant drugs to treat the intestinal disorder, according to the results of two new studies. ...
Use Vanity to Reduce Young People's Sun Exposure: Task Force
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 peop...
MelaFind Device Approved to Detect Melanoma
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- MelaFind -- a device that creates digital images of suspicious skin growths and compares them to a database of thousands of scans to analyze for signs of melanoma skin cancer -- has been approved by the U.S. F...
Tanning Beds May Be Even Riskier Than Thought
THURSDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Indoor tanning beds may be even more likely to cause skin cancer than previously believed. New research published online Oct. 6 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology suggests that the main type of ultravi...
TNF Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Boosts Skin Cancer Risk
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors appears to increase their risk of developing skin cancer, a new review of prior research indicates. However, TNF inhibit...
The War on Cancer Continues
TUESDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Forty years after President Nixon signed the National Cancer Act into law and pledged to put the country's resources to work to find better treatments for cancer, substantial victories have been scored against...
Frailty May Threaten Melanoma Survival More Than Age
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 31 (HealthDay News) -- A new study says physical frailty is more important than age at predicting poor outcomes for patients with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer. The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Cen...
FDA Approves Potent New Melanoma Drug
WEDNESDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave its approval to Zelboraf (vemurafenib), a first-of-its-kind drug for the treatment of an often lethal form of melanoma. The drug targets a gene mutation...
New Drug Approved for Advanced Skin Cancer
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 Wednes...
Flip-Flops, Baseball Caps May Raise Risk of Skin Cancer
WEDNESDAY, July 13 (HealthDay News) -- Wearing flip-flops and baseball caps can increase your risk of skin cancer, an expert warns. "Most skin cancers occur on the parts of the body that are repeatedly exposed to the sun," Dr. Rebecca Tung, direct...
From Tanning Beds to Melanoma Surgery
FRIDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Meghan Rothschild loved her tan. Normally fair-skinned and with red hair, Rothschild admits her compulsion to get a perfect tan was driven by "pure vanity."
A Safe Tan? No Way, Experts Say
FRIDAY, July 8 (HealthDay News) -- Young women say they flock to tanning salons to gain a healthy glow that adds to their natural beauty, protects them from the sun's rays and fills them with self-confidence. Except none of it is true or lasting.
Vitamin D, Calcium Combo May Halve Melanoma Risk in Some Women
MONDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- Certain women at risk for developing melanoma, the most severe form of skin cancer, may cut the likelihood in half by taking vitamin D/calcium supplements, a new study suggests. "It looks like there is some prom...
FDA Issues New Rules on Sunscreens
TUESDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it will require new labeling for sunscreens to identify products that are best for reducing the risk of skin cancer, early skin aging and helping to prevent su...
Two Drugs Shown to Prolong Survival in Advanced Melanoma Cases
SUNDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Two new drugs prolong the lives of patients with advanced melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer and one that is notoriously difficult to treat, let alone cure. The first treatment, vemurafenib, inhi...
Survey Shows Dangers of Tanning Not Hitting Home
TUESDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- Although studies have shown that indoor tanning raises your risk of the deadly skin cancer melanoma by a staggering 75 percent, a new survey reveals that young women continue to use tanning beds at an alarming ra...
Blood Test May Help Predict Spread of Melanoma
FRIDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- It's possible that a blood test could be used to predict the risk of cancer spreading, or metastasizing, in people who have melanoma skin cancer, a new study suggests. Researchers from Yale University tested th...
Scientists Spot Key Gene Mutations in Melanoma
FRIDAY, April 15 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. scientists who completed the world's first "whole-exome sequencing" of melanoma say their accomplishment will improve the ability to diagnose and treat the deadliest form of skin cancer. Whole-exome sequen...
Laser Technology Might Help Doctors Diagnose Melanoma
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've developed a new and potentially more accurate way to diagnose melanoma lesions, using laser technology. The laser equipment spots key differences in pigmentation between healthy skin a...
Long-Term Statin Use Won't Raise Cancer Risk: Study
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Long term use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins does not increase the risk of cancer and may even decrease users' risks for lymphoma, melanoma and endometrial tumors, a new study finds. Studies hav...
Lower Income, Education Can Hamper Skin Cancer Care
TUESDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Skin cancer patients who are poor, uninsured and/or less well-educated appear to be less able to correctly identify the kind of malignancy they have, new U.S. research suggests. The finding could place such ind...
Sunscreen Concerns Unfounded, Experts Say
MONDAY, July 26 (HealthDay News) -- Recent reports questioning the safety of many sunscreens have experts worried that some people may shun the very products that could save their lives, not to mention their skin. The research behind these allegat...
Florida's Minorities See Unusual Melanoma Patterns
WEDNESDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- Melanoma trends among minority groups in Florida, the Sunshine State, are different than national trends, a new study finds. Researchers evaluated data on more than 36,000 melanoma patients in the Florida Can...
Novel Drug Combats Advanced Melanoma
SATURDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say that a new drug to treat melanoma, the first in its class, improved survival by 68 percent in patients whose disease had spread from the skin to other parts of the body. This is big news in the f...
Tanning Beds Can Greatly Boost Melanoma Risk
THURSDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) -- People who use tanning beds to keep that year-round glow are dramatically increasing their risk for developing melanoma, the deadliest of skin cancers, a new study finds. In fact, the more you tan and the longe...
A Tan Is Still Admired, Despite Risks
WEDNESDAY, May 12 (HealthDay News) -- Despite significant concerns about skin cancer, a majority of Americans nevertheless think that having a tan is an attractive, desirable and healthy look, a new national survey finds. The poll was conducted by...
Poll Finds Sun Smarts Vary From City to City
WEDNESDAY, May 5 (HealthDay News) -- People in Hartford, Conn., Salt Lake City and Denver lead the nation in skin cancer prevention and detection awareness, while those in Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh rank lowest, according to a new American ...
Few Over 50 Get Skin Cancer Screenings
WEDNESDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- Too few middle-aged and older white Americans are being screened for skin cancer, a particular problem among those who did not finish high school or receive other common cancer screenings, a new study has fo...
FDA Advisers Urge Stricter Regulation of Tanning Beds
FRIDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- A potential ban on the use of tanning beds by people under 18 was among the recommendations Thursday by U.S. health advisers who said more measures are needed to protect consumers -- especially teens -- from sk...
FDA Panel Weighs New Restrictions on Tanning Beds
THURSDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Recent calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clamp down on tanning bed use will heat up again Thursday as an agency panel debates new restrictions on the devices, which some health experts say co...
Tanning Bed Regulation Heats Up
TUESDAY, Feb. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Tanning beds -- America's latest health scourge -- could come under tighter regulation soon, as a result of studies linking them to cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and members of Congress are scram...
Melanoma Less Common in Blacks But Deadlier
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors are diagnosing more white people with the deadly skin cancer known as melanoma, and while Hispanics and blacks are much less likely to be diagnosed with the malignancy, they often have advanced forms ...
Radiation After Surgery Lowers Chances of Melanoma Recurrence
MONDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Patients whose melanoma has spread to one or more lymph nodes face a decreased risk of the deadly skin cancer returning if they have radiation treatment following the removal of the nodes, a new Australian study ...
More Doctors Need to Learn to Spot Skin Cancers
MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Too few resident physicians have been trained in skin cancer examinations or watched or practiced the procedure, U.S. researchers report. In a survey of 342 resident physicians in family medicine, obstetrics and...
Vitamin D May Improve Melanoma Survival
SATURDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Higher levels of vitamin D are linked to less severe, less deadly melanoma lesions in people with skin cancer, new research suggests. The findings provide more support for the idea that vitamin D is crucial t...
New Treatment May Beat Melanoma
THURSDAY, Sept. 24 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental treatment for advanced melanoma promotes rapid shrinking of tumors, according to a new study. The phase I extension trial includes patients with the cancer-causing mutation of the BRAF gene, w...
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