Health : Health Buzz: FDA Approves New Melanoma Drug |
| Health Buzz: FDA Approves New Melanoma Drug Posted: 28 Mar 2011 09:38 AM PDT FDA OKs First Melanoma Drug to Prolong Survival A new drug has been approved to treat late-stage melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared Bristol-Myers Squibb's injectable drug Yervoy on Friday, based on a study of 676 end-stage melanoma patients. Those who took Yervoy lived an average of 10 months—four months longer than those given an immune-stimulating treatment, according to the Associated Press. More than 20 percent of Yervoy recipients lived at least two years, while some survived even longer. Only two other drugs are currently used to treat advanced melanoma: dacarbazine, a chemotherapy agent, and interleukin-2, which is so toxic it's rarely used. Neither has been shown to significantly extend patients' lives. Unlike chemotherapy, which attacks cancer cells with chemicals, Yervoy belongs to a novel class of immunotherapy drugs which work by mobilizing the body's immune system to destroy the cancer. Still, Yervoy is no magic bullet: Nearly 13 percent of patients experienced severe to fatal autoimmune reactions, and other side effects included fatigue, diarrhea, skin rash, and intestinal inflammation. "Clearly this is not a home run, but it's a solid base hit," Tim Turnham, director of the Melanoma Research Foundation, told the Associated Press. "And because we see other things in the pipeline, we think this is the first in a series of important new therapies for melanoma."
8 Ways to Spot Skin Cancer Before It Kills When skin cancer is spotted early, it's almost always curable. For melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, the 5-year survival rate is 99 percent—if the tumor is spotted when it's nothing more than a spot on the skin, according to the American Cancer Society. But that survival rate plunges to 15 percent once the fast growing cancer has spread. In 2008, the president of the American Academy of Dermatology, William Hanke, told U.S. News how to spot skin cancer before it spreads. Here's his advice: 1. Look for new spots. While some melanomas emerge from moles, about 70 percent do not. 2. Monitor moles for any signs of change. Moles that change shape, color, or size are big red flags. Look at this helpful Mayo Clinic slideshow to see the gory details of what to look for. 3. Be wary of moles that bleed. Normally moles shouldn't, so that's a sign of potential trouble. 4. Men, watch your back; women, your legs. It's more common for men to get melanomas on their backs and trunks, while women tend to get them on their legs and calves. 5. Guys, monitor the top of your ears and head especially closely. Many hats for men don't shade the ears, and balding men often forget to protect their hairless pates. Both are common sites for squamous and basal cell carcinoma. [Read more: 8 Ways to Spot Skin Cancer Before It Kills.] Too Much Sun? How to Minimize Wrinkles and Cancer Risks If you already have a tan, is there anything you can do to minimize the damage to your skin? Yes and no, says Jennifer Stein, an assistant professor of dermatology at New York University Langone Medical Center. "The body can repair some of the DNA damage caused by excess sun exposure on its own," she says. That means you shouldn't be too concerned about elevated skin cancer risks from one bout of tanning. On the other hand, she adds, studies have linked habitual tanning to a greater risk of skin cancer, so take care to avoid prolonged sunbathing in the future, U.S. News reports. To be on the safe side, she also recommends checking your skin every few months for new spots, moles that bleed, or growths that have changed in shape, color, or size. Not only do these checks help catch skin cancer early, but they can also help spot precancers, which can be removed before they turn malignant. "[Suspicious] growths tend to look rough, scaly, and pink," says Stein. Minimizing wrinkles after a suntan is possible. "Use topical therapies daily consisting of retinol and other antioxidants," says Ariel Ostad, a New York City-based dermatologist. Antioxidant-laden wrinkle creams can help neutralize free radicals, harmful molecules produced by the sun's ultraviolet rays that damage skin cells and cause wrinkles. [Read more: Too Much Sun? How to Minimize Wrinkles and Cancer Risks.] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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