Young American Women Getting Tanned to Death

The most lethal form of skin cancer is on the rise in American women aged 15 to 39, according to data provided by the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, operated by the National Cancer Institute.  The number of cases of melanoma, the form of skin cancer in question, has risen in young women by as much as 50% between 1980 and 2004.  Authorities suggest the increasing popularity of tanning salons may be one reason for the dramatic increase in this cancer. Read more

Head, Neck Melanomas Most Deadly

Researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, have recently published the result of a study conducted there that reveals a death rate in cancer patients with melanomas of the head and neck that is nearly twice as high as patients with melanomas elsewhere. The research team analyzed data from 51,704 US melanoma cases to determine if the location where skin cancer first appears affects the chance of survival. The UNC study indicates a death rate 1.84 times higher when melanomas first appear on the scalp or the neck than when they appear on other parts of the body, including the face and the ears. All cases under review for the study were limited to white, non-Hispanic adults diagnosed with melanoma from 1992 to 2003. Read more

Vaccine Antibody Shows Promise for Ovarian Cancer and Melanoma

In a recent study, researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute found that giving patients with advanced melanoma or ovarian cancer that have been immunized with a GVAX vaccine, periodic infusions of anti-CTLA-4 antibodies provides a strong immune response to tumors with less-severe side effects. Read more