Melanoma News and Research

Latest Melanoma News and Research

Emerging cancer therapies and novel targets

What are the cancer drugs of tomorrow and how will they be developed? At the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, researchers will present some answers to these and other pressing questions regarding emerging cancer therapeutics.

25 Oct 2007

T-cell exhaustion

A new study of immune cells battling a chronic viral infection shows that the cells, called T cells, become exhausted by the fight in specific ways, undergoing profound changes that make them progressively less effective over time.

19 Oct 2007

Improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland

There have been improvements in cancer survival in Northern Ireland between 1993 and 2004, according to a new report from the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry (NICR), launched at Queen’s today.

4 Oct 2007

New strategies with greater antitumorous efficacy

One of the biggest problems in the current treatment of cancer is that the agents that are efficacious in the destruction of tumorous cells are, at the same time, extremely toxic for the rest of the healthy cells and tissues of the patient.

3 Oct 2007

Daisy compound used to attack cancer stem cells

A new, easily ingested form of a compound that has already shown it can attack the roots of leukemia in laboratory studies is moving into human clinical trials, according to a new article by University of Rochester investigators in the journal, Blood.

2 Oct 2007

Oncolytics Biotech reports positive interim results of UK phase Ia/Ib trials

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. has announced that an oral presentation covering interim results from a U.K. Phase Ia/Ib combination REOLYSIN and radiation clinical trial for patients with advanced or metastatic cancers is scheduled to be presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) conference on October 2, 2007 in Birmingham, U.K.

29 Sep 2007

Less invasive lymph node biopsy method could spare thousands unnecessary operations

Barcelona, Spain: Using an ultrasound-guided fine needle to biopsy lymph nodes could spare thousands of melanoma patients every year worldwide from having to undergo unnecessary and sometimes unpleasant surgery to verify whether their cancer has spread, new research indicates.

27 Sep 2007

The cancer burden in the developing world

Only a few years ago cancer was considered to be a disease of westernised, developed countries, but now the burden is increasingly falling on less developed countries, a leading epidemiologist told ECCO 14, the European Cancer Conference.

25 Sep 2007

LL37 peptide provides a new potential target for autoimmune disease

A human peptide that acts as a natural antibiotic against invading microbes can also bind to the body's own DNA and trigger an immune response in the absence of an infection, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in an early online publication in Nature.

17 Sep 2007

Researchers make new discovery on pigment melanin and skin - hair color

The pigment melanin, which is responsible for skin and hair color in mammals, is produced in specialized cells called melanocytes and then distributed to other cells. But not every cell in the complex layers of skin becomes pigmented.

10 Sep 2007

Decitabine and interferon gamma show promise for ocular melanoma that has spread

A combination of two drugs shows promise in treating a rare and therapy-resistant type of melanoma that originates in the eye and spreads to other organs, according to a new study led by Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers.

5 Sep 2007

Interferon alpha revs immune cells but cancer cells ignore it

A new study shows that an important drug used in the treatment of malignant melanoma has little effect on the melanoma cells themselves. Instead, it activates immune-system cells to fight the disease.

3 Sep 2007

Cell that triggers symptoms in allergy attacks can also limit damage

A blood cell known as a troublemaker for triggering the itch and inflammation in allergy attacks, the mast cell, can also calm down the flare-ups, researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine have found.

3 Sep 2007

Researchers chart the level of gene expression in melanoma cell lines

Other than visually inspecting the disease, doctors have no genetic blueprint to classify melanomas, a lethal form of skin cancer.

30 Aug 2007

Biologic treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and the risk of cancer

The relationship between rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an autoimmune disease marked by chronic inflammation of the joints and tissue surrounding vital organs, and the incidence of cancer is complicated.

30 Aug 2007

Night shift work and cancer - no link found

Working the night shift doesn't appear to increase the risk of developing cancer, suggest the findings of a new study of Swedish workers.

24 Aug 2007

Doubt raised again over value of antioxidant supplements

According to a new study by French researchers, antioxidant supplements do not protect women against skin cancer and in fact they may possibly increase their risk.

20 Aug 2007

We need to treat cancer like an infectious disease

Among the many medical miracles produced by science over the years, vaccines and antibiotics have undoubtedly saved the most lives.

17 Aug 2007

Use of aluminium in sunscreens and sunblocks questioned

Scientists at Keele University in Staffordshire have questioned the safety of aluminium added to sunscreens and sunblocks.

13 Aug 2007

Steep rises in cancers linked to excessive sun exposure, alcohol, smoking and obesity

Rates of melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, have risen by over 40 per cent in the past decade, making it the fastest rising cancer in the UK. Incidence of mouth, womb, and kidney cancers has also shown rapid increases in the last 10 years.

8 Aug 2007