Melanoma News and Research

Latest Melanoma News and Research

Misconceptions lead to late diagnosis of melanoma in African Americans

Susan C. Taylor, M.D., assistant clinical professor of dermatology, The College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University in New York, addressed the alarming statistics that support the fact that prevention and detection messages about melanoma are not being heeded by African Americans.

3 May 2004

Teenagers ignore warnings on skin cancer

For most teens, getting a tan during spring break or in preparation for the prom is as common as these rites of passage themselves. Although teens hear dermatologists’ warnings that tanning is the most avoidable risk factor in the prevention of skin cancer, studies find they forgo this advice in favor of the bronzed look.

3 May 2004

UK, skin cancer specialists to check out moles

Macmillan skin cancer nurse, Denise Hancock, and colleagues from the Dermatology Department at Southampton University Hospitals Trust are inviting members of the public to 'check out their moles' at a Mole Watch Day in Marks and Spencer in West Quay on Wednesday 12 May, from 9am-5pm.

30 Apr 2004

Researchers find mucus plays key role in cancer

Investigators at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center in Boston became intrigued with the thick, slimy stuff when they learned that breast, lung, colon, and other tumor cells make more than 50 times more of a certain type of it than normal cells.

29 Apr 2004

Skin cancer is now the UK's most common cancer in both men and women

Macmillan skin cancer nurse specialists will be promoting sun awareness and the dangers of skin cancer during Sun Awareness Week which runs from 10 to 16 May.

23 Apr 2004

New insights into how tumors neutralize CD8 T cells

Scientists have speculated that this may be because the immune response is not strong enough, or because it does not last long enough to have an effect. Hence the increasing efforts to develop cancer vaccines that induce, strengthen, and increase the duration of immunological attack against cancer cells.

16 Apr 2004

Cancer-specific protein offers new target for the development of melanoma vaccine

Scientists from the Cancer Vaccine Collaborative (CVC) have discovered that the cancer-specific protein, SSX-2, induces a spontaneous immunological reaction against cancer cells in melanoma patients, offering a new target for the development of a therapeutic melanoma vaccine. SSX-2 is the prototype of the SSX family, and is part of a larger group of proteins known as cancer/testis (CT) antigens.

16 Apr 2004

FDA approval for skin cancer cream

3M has received an "approvable" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in response to its supplemental new drug application on Aldara (imiquimod) Cream, 5% for the treatment of superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), a common form of non-melanoma skin cancer.

14 Apr 2004

FDA approves advanced malignant melanoma drug

Maxim Pharmaceuticals today announced that its treatment protocol to provide its investigational drug Ceplene(TM), in combination with interleukin-2 (IL-2), for the treatment of patients with advanced malignant melanoma, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

14 Apr 2004

Protein sequences harder to predict than originally thought

Scientists have believed for decades that the sequencing of the human genome would automatically yield the sequences of proteins, the functional products of genes, and thus lead to the unraveling of the mechanisms behind human cell biology and disease.

12 Apr 2004

75% of young Britains still ignoring skin cancer warnings

Almost three quarters of Britain's young men and women are boosting their risk of potentially fatal skin cancer in their search for a suntan. A specially commissioned survey for Cancer Research UK today reveals that 70 per cent of 16 to 24 year olds still want a tan on holiday despite warnings of over exposure to the sun.

30 Mar 2004

Novel vaccine technology to suppress the growth of certain tumors

MedImmune, Inc. and Cerus Corporation have announced preclinical results demonstrating the effectiveness of a novel therapeutic vaccine technology in suppressing the growth of certain tumors.

From Baxter International Inc. 29 Mar 2004