| Doctors dispute FDA concerns about skin whiteners | | Posted Monday, January 29, 2007 3:12:29 PM by Blog57 Team | | WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration is considering a ban on widely-used cosmetic skin fade creams and lotions, warning the bleaching agent hydroquinone contained in the products might cause cancer and a disfiguring condition. Dermatologists and manufacturers insist the products are safe and are urging the FDA to back off. "I have been in practice 20 years and use products with hydroquinone almost every other day," said David Goldberg, a clinical professor of dermatology at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School in Newark. "What's the evidence that these products as formulated in the United States and as used by people here have caused problems? The answer is none," said Goldberg, expressing a view consistent with the major dermatology associations.... | |
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| | | Improve Skin Cancer Self-Examination Practices By Learning With A ... | | Posted Sunday, January 21, 2007 1:14:49 PM by Blog57 Team | | Individuals who received instruction on skin self-examination with their partners may be more likely to engage in this cancer prevention behavior, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Skin self-examination can help detect the skin cancer melanoma early, decreasing death rates and the physical and emotional burdens associated with the disease, according to background information in the article. "Persons who perform skin self-examination present for care at an earlier stage in the disease process and have 50 percent less advanced melanoma and markedly lower mortality from melanoma," the authors write. "Skin self-examination can be learned by those who recognize that they are at risk of developing melanoma, including the elderly," who are more likely to both develop melanoma and to die from it than younger individuals.... | |
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| | | Rheumatoid Arthritis Meds Won't Up Most Cancer Risk | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 11:14:44 PM by Blog57 Team | | SUNDAY, Nov. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Biologic therapy doesn't appear to increase the overall risk of cancer, other than skin cancers, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers who analyzed long-term data from a U.S. national registry. Some previous studies have suggested that genetically-engineered biologics -- such as adalimumab, etanercept, infliximib, anakinra and abatacept -- may increase the risk of lymphoma and/or lung cancer in rheumatoid arthritis patients. These drugs are commonly prescribed in order to control immune system abnormalities that cause joint inflammation. In this study, researchers analyzed data on 13,000 people who took part in the U.S. National Data Bank of Rheumatic Disease between 1998 and 2005. Of those, 48 percent had taken biologics.... | |
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| | | Scientists find new way to drum out skin cancer | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 3:39:48 AM by Blog57 Team | | The body's own immune system can fight the deadly cancer melanoma if scientists can flip the system's "off" switch to "on," two preliminary studies suggest. Scientists have long sought to rev up the disease-fighting cells of the immune system to fight melanoma. The new work addresses the other side of the coin, the regulatory cells that normally keep disease-fighting cells in check. By shutting those inhibiting cells off, scientists hope to enable the disease-fighting cells to mount a continuous attack on the cancer. Two new studies of that strategy were reported this week in Prague at a European cancer research meeting. "This is a fundamentally different approach to treating cancer," said Dr. Alexander Eggermont, professor of surgical oncology at the University of Rotterdam, Netherlands, the conference's chairman.... | |
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| | | Light Bandage treats skin cancer on-the-go | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 1:21:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | A physicist and a dermatology consultant at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland (no, that's not the beginning of a joke) have just built a new revolutionary mobile treatment for skin cancer. Their invention is a "light bandage" whose LEDs shine onto the affected area while the wearer is out and about, and draws power from an iPod-sized battery pack. The device is based on the principles of photodynamic therapy treatment (PDT), which is traditionally used to treat skin cancer; however, in current applications of PDT, patients must sit or lie still while sitting under huge light sources. Of course, this means that now you can go lay on the beach to get your tan on, absorbing ultraviolet rays while wearing a light bandage to treat your skin cancer. Perfect.[Via medGadget] .... | |
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| | | ASTRO: Men with Prostate Cancer Avoid Radiation Due to Misconceptions | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 7:32:11 AM by Blog57 Team | | Negative perceptions about radiation therapy can strongly influence a prostate cancer patient's choice to avoid external beam radiation therapy, even though studies have proven the treatment to be as safe and effective as other treatments for the disease, including surgery, according to a study presented Nov. 5 at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 48th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. "The study shows that patients base their treatment choice not only on technical information, but also on cultural and personal prejudices," said Riccardo Valdagni, M.D., an author of the study and head of the Prostate Programme at the Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in Milan, Italy. "It's important for patients to express their fears about radiation treatment to their doctors and for doctors to consider these worries and address any misconceptions about this therapy so that patients can make the best, most informed decision about their treatment." Men with prostate cancer often choose between external beam radiation therapy, radiation seed implants and surgery to treat their cancer.... | |
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| | | Bright light band aid - high tech way to treat skin cancer | | Posted Thursday, November 02, 2006 7:14:51 PM by Blog57 Team | | Scientists in Scotland have come up with a revolutionary way of treating common skin cancers. They have developed a portable light source, a light-emitting "sticking plaster", powered by a small battery pack, could allow patients to be treated in GP surgeries or at home. At present skin cancer treatment can involve the surgical removal of lesions, which often leaves scarring and the risk of infection or photodynamic therapy treatment (PDT). This latest high tech idea is an adaptation of PDT already available to skin cancer patients, where the affected area of skin is covered with a light- sensitive anti-cancer cream, which is activated by controlled exposure to a light source. This involves large, cumbersome and intense light sources in hospital, involving the patient having to sit still for several hours.... | |
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| | | Skin treatment targets cancer, acne | | Posted Sunday, October 29, 2006 11:27:03 AM by Blog57 Team | | There's news for your health about a high-tech skin treatment that targets two very different conditions. It's called photodynamic therapy. Not only does it clear up severe acne, it can also stop certain types of skin cancer in the earliest stages. "About 10-years ago I started to develop skin cancers on my body and I've had about four or five removed." It's the price Debby Robinson pays for having spent so much time in the sun over the years. And this could be just the beginning. Her doctor, Dermatologist Tina West, sees more signs of sun damage. "Some of the things we can see are some areas that are red and scaly around her face." Robinson has lesions known as actinic keratoses that often lead to skin cancer.... | |
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| | | Daylight saving not linked to skin cancer, says QCF | | Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2006 7:18:10 PM by Blog57 Team | | The Queensland Cancer Fund (QCF) has dismissed the Premier's claim that daylight saving would expose people to more sunlight and increase their risk of contracting skin cancer. Peter Beattie says it is one of the reasons he does not want daylight saving in Queensland. But Cancer Fund spokeswoman Joanne Aitken says that is not a valid reason. "We need to stay out of the sun between the hours of 10(am) and 3(pm) if possible, or use protection," she said. "Those peak UV hours won't be lengthened by having daylight saving. "There is no evidence that skin cancer increases with daylight saving." .... | |
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| | | Namibia: Dozens Dying of Skin Cancer | | Posted Sunday, October 22, 2006 7:14:03 AM by Blog57 Team | | With a population of albinos numbering some 1 000 people in Namibia, the association representing albinos says about 40 of them die due to skin cancer each year. President of the Namibia Albino Association, Joseph Ndinomupya, yesterday revealed that skin cancer remains the leading cause of death among albinos. With a sense of worry, Ndinomupya said, "It is the main killer among our community. Our greatest fear is if nothing is done, the majority of our people will die." He noted that most albinos do not live long due to a lack of understanding of how to care for their skins, such as applying sunscreen lotions. The Cancer Association of Namibia (CAN) could however not confirm the statistics. The majority of albinos in Namibia are found in the Kavango, Caprivi, Kunene, Omusati, Otjozondjupa, and Oshikoto regions.... | |
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