Skin Cancer News and Research

Latest Skin Cancer News and Research

Urgent need for bowel cancer screening funding

Bowel Cancer Foundation chairman, Graham Newstead feeling frustrated at the federal government’s indecision on bowel cancer screening funds has expressed his dismay. He suggested that the government should ensure the future funding for the screening test that has saved an estimated 11,000 lives since screening was introduced in 2006.

16 Nov 2010

Study shows patient-specific factors delay skin cancer treatment

If detected early, nonmelanoma skin cancers (primarily basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, the two most common forms of skin cancer) can be easily treated. But when left untreated, these skin cancers can grow and even spread, causing considerably more harm than if they were treated upon initial detection. Now, a new study finds that denial is the top reason why patients delay seeking treatment for skin cancer and shows that this delay results in larger, more serious, skin cancers.

15 Nov 2010

Denial is top reason for patients to delay treatment for skin cancer

12 Nov 2010

Genetic constitution can influence changes in tumor growth: Study

The genes we possess not only determine the color of our eyes and hair and how our bodies grow, they might also influence the changes that occur in tumors when we develop cancer.

11 Nov 2010

Spectral Molecular Imaging awarded $190,172 QTDP grant for development of melanoma detection system

Cascade Technologies Corp., announced today that its wholly-owned subsidiary Spectral Molecular Imaging, Inc. (SMI) has received a grant under the Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project (QTDP) program to advance the development of the company's SkinSpect system for the detection of melanoma and other skin cancers.

9 Nov 2010

FDA announces reclassification for Full Field Digital Mammography Systems

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it is easing the pathway to market for mammography systems that produce computerized X-ray images of the entire breast.

8 Nov 2010

Plexxikon's PLX4032 shows positive data in patients with metastatic melanoma

Plexxikon today announced positive preliminary data from a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of PLX4032 (RG7204) in metastatic melanoma, showing significant tumor shrinkage in the majority of patients.

8 Nov 2010

Researchers take first step towards understanding of rare skin cancer

Leeds-based scientists, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research headquartered in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, plan to introduce the genetic material of a virus into normal human skin cells to produce skin cells that have features of Merkel Cell Carcinoma cancers.

8 Nov 2010

Genentech announces Phase II RG7204 clinical study results for metastatic melanoma tumors

Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group today announced results from a Phase II clinical study of RG7204 (PLX4032), an investigational first-in-class molecule designed to selectively inhibit a cancer-causing, mutated form of the BRAF protein found in approximately half of metastatic melanoma tumors.

8 Nov 2010

Provectus presents PV-10 Phase 2 clinical trial data for metastatic melanoma at Sydney Congress

Provectus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, presented positive preliminary data from fully monitored study data for the entire study population of 80 subjects in its Phase 2 clinical trial of PV-10 for metastatic melanoma.

8 Nov 2010

Melanoma drug breakthrough

Two latest drugs useful in melanoma are termed as the biggest breakthrough in the last five decades say cancer experts. These drugs are the first ones to be effective in advanced forms of the cancer.

5 Nov 2010

Gene fusion prostate cancers susceptible to secondary mutations

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have taken an important step toward a better understanding of prostate cancer by uncovering evidence that it is not one disease, as previously believed, but rather several factors which can be measured and, in the future, destroyed by targeted therapy.

4 Nov 2010

Image Guided IMRT preserves sexual function in men after prostatectomy

Men battling prostate cancer who receive Image Guided Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy after undergoing prostatectomy have an excellent chance of retaining sexual function, according to a study by Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) cancer specialists presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiation and Oncology in San Diego.

3 Nov 2010

£600 million cancer drug fund for UK cancer patients

Good news for cancer patients in England, the government has announced that it would fulfill a pledge to set up a drugs fund. Earlier the Department of Health promised the extra funding after a report revealed the low level of spending in the UK on cancer medication compared to the rest of Europe.

27 Oct 2010

New annual campaign to prevent skin cancer

The annual "Euromelanoma Day" campaign is designed to prevent skin cancer among the general public. While there has been considerable interest, it has proved difficult to reach out to some of the at-risk groups. As such, new ways of encouraging these people to go to a dermatologist are being introduced, reveals research from the University of Gothenburg presented at the dermatologist conference in Sweden.

25 Oct 2010

$1 million Pfizer Fellowship awarded for melanoma research at AusBiotech 2010

Dr Mark Shackleton was last night awarded the 2011 Pfizer Australia Senior Research Fellowship grant for his research proposal at the AusBiotech 2010 Conference Dinner. Professor John Funder, chair of the selection committee, announced this year’s winner, who will use the $1 million, five-year Fellowship for research into ‘Identifying determinants of human melanoma progression’.

21 Oct 2010

Highlights of Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI Meeting

Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine.

21 Oct 2010

FDA asks manufacturers to add new warnings to labeling of prostate cancer drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today asked manufacturers to add new warnings to labeling of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonists, a class of drugs primarily used to treat men with prostate cancer.

21 Oct 2010

Salix acquires rights to colon cancer screening agent from Photocure

Salix Pharmaceuticals, Ltd. today announced that the Company has acquired rights to Lumacan™ from Photocure, a Norwegian specialty pharmaceutical company. Lumacan is a novel agent designed to assist in the detection of precancerous and cancerous lesions in the colon.

20 Oct 2010

Inguinal lymph node dissection with spinal anesthesia improves prognosis in patients with malignant melanoma

A study presented at this year's American Society of Anesthesiologists Annual Meeting offers evidence that patients with malignant melanoma who undergo inguinal lymph node dissection with spinal anesthesia (a regional anesthetic) have a better prognosis than patients who undergo the same surgery with general anesthesia.

20 Oct 2010