News
The following exerpts from Cancer in the News have been reproduced with the permission of Cancer Council NSW and Media Monitors. Cancer in the News is an edited summary of news items in daily national and capital city newspapers. We have only included items which we believe may be of interest to melanoma providers. This section will be updated weekly.
Skin: Sun-smart ways bad to the bone Skin: Victims of sun worship Skin: Tanning in shade Skin: Greens to push for solarium regulation Skin: WA tool in cancer battle Skin: Solariums flout law after melanoma death
At least a third of Melbourne women of child bearing age may be deficient in vitamin D, with doctors blaming the popular "slip, slop, slap" message.
An increase in the number of veiled women and the dark skinned population, as well as indoor living and long working hours were also to blame.
RCH endocrinologist Associate Professor Margaret Zacharin said children at risk were routinely screened for vitamin D, and nearly all of them were deficient.
The Cancer Council backed limited exposure out of peak UV times to boost vitamin D.
Herald Sun 9/2/10 p.7, Daily Telegraph 9/2/10 p.3.
Decades of anti-suntan campaigns are failing to save fashion-conscious young women from melanoma, with new figures showing they are much more likely than young men to develop the potentially deadly skin cancer.
Although men have a higher overall rate of skin cancer than women, the trend is reversed in younger people, according to new research from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Across Australia, 241 women aged 15-29 were diagnosed with melanoma in 2006, the research released yesterday shows, compared with 201 men of the same age. Between the ages of 20 and 34, men have a one-in-435 chance of getting melanoma, compared with a one-in-348 chance for women.
Cancer Council Chief Executive Officer Ian Olver said among young women the problem could be mainly attributed to the notion that a tan denoted health and beauty.
Cancer Council research shows up to 25 per cent of people in their teens and early 20s can get burnt on an average summer weekend.
Sunday Telegraph 7/2/10 p.7.
Sunbaking is falling out of favour with young people, a cancer study has found.
About 35 per cent of those surveyed in 2008 wanted no tan, up from 25 per cent four years earlier.
The NSW School Students Health Behaviours Survey of 7500 young people aged 12-17 was conducted by the NSW Cancer Institute and the results released yesterday.
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally said it also showed the Government's Dark Side of Tanning campaign was having an effect on the attitudes of young people.
Daily Telegraph 5/2/10 p. 28, Adelaide Advertiser 5/2/10 p.30, Hobart Mercury 5/2/10 p.3
People with fair skin and teens aged under 18 could be banned from tanning salons under new laws proposed by the ACT Greens.
The Greens will attempt to force the issue of regulating solariums in March, introducing legislation which will regulate the tanning industry in the ACT if passed.
Health spokeswoman Amanda Bresnan said the private member's Bill took its cue from Victorian legislation which regulated the state's tanning industry in 2008.
The ACT Cancer Council's SunSmart services coordinator, David Wild, said the council had been calling for regulation for several years but had not received a firm date for action.
Canberra Times 4/2/10 p.3.
A new scanner, which could revolutionise the way skin cancer is diagnosed, is being developed in WA.
The technology uses terahertz rays a safer type of radiation than traditional methods such as X-rays.
Terahertz rays allow doctors to measure the depth of early-stage skin cancers, giving them the ability to better diagnosis and treat superficial diseases or burns.
Researchers at the University of WA hope the tool will be introduced to hospitals in WA and across Australia in the next two years.
UWA medical physicist and lead researcher on the project Vincent Wallace said the technology was suited to Australia where skin cancer killed 1700 people a year.
Sunday Times 31/1/10 p.9.
Almost all Sydney solariums are flouting laws introduced by the State Government after melanoma victim Clare Oliver's death, new figures show.
Government research obtained by The Sun-Herald found 98 per cent of solarium operators had failed to comply with tough new legislation set down in May.
Of 89 businesses audited since September by the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water, only two complied with the new restrictions.
Amendments to the Radiation Control Act include prohibiting solarium use by children under 18 and people with very fair skin, displaying proper warnings about risks associated with ultraviolet radiation exposure, limiting the amount and frequency of exposure, providing protective eyewear and adequately supervising clients.
The new figures show there has been a 30 per cent reduction in solariums since the regulations were introduced.
Rogue operators will not face penalties of up to $11,000 for breaching the act, instead being given notice to change their business practices. An additional 50 NSW solariums outside Sydney would also undergo audits in the first half of the year.
Frank Sartor, the Minister Assisting the Minister for Health (Cancer), said the level of compliance was "appalling".
Cancer Council NSW, Policy and Advocacy Manager, Anita Tang urged the Government to take a tougher stance towards any businesses that still failed to meet requirements.
Sun Herald 17/1/10 p.5.
Skin: Small details (Letter)
The CEO of the Cancer Council Australia, Professor Ian Olver was quoted as saying that sunscreens containing nanoparticles may be "unsafe" and could cause skin cancer (Sunscreen's small risk, December 22).
What Professor Olver actually said was that while there had been speculation about this, there was no clear evidence proving that nanoparticles in sunscreen posed a health risk.
- Cancer Council Australia.
Daily Telegraph, 23/12/09 p. 65.
Skin: Men at risk as melanoma rate soars
Cancer experts are alarmed by predictions of skyrocketing rates of melanoma in WA over the next decade, particularly in men who fail to cover up in the sun.
Estimates show numbers of the deadly skin cancer almost doubling by 2021 to reach more than 1000 new cases a year, with men making up two-thirds of victims.
Although some of the increase is linked to the growing population, the crude rate will jump from 59 per 100,000 men to 76 per 100,000.
The Cancer Council of WA said the projections were frightening and showed that while safe sun messages had made some headway, more needed to be done to limit people's exposure to the sun, particularly during the middle of the day.
West Australian 23/12/09 p. 17.
Skin: Hope for new skin-disorder drug
A radical new drug used to treat patients suffering painful sensitivity to sunlight could prevent skin cancer or be copied by the tanning industry.
The breakthrough drug Afamelanotide, developed by a Melbourne company, has been successfully tested for 12 months on 101 people worldwide, including six Melburnians, all with the incurable genetic skin disorder EPP.
The illness leaves suffers with painful, bleeding blisters and burns when exposed to normal levels of sunlight.
Royal Children's Hospital and Royal Melbourne head of dermatology, Dr George Varigos, led the Melbourne drug trial on his EPP patients.
"We are not telling these people to go out and sunbake, but now they can have a normal life." Dr Varigos is testing the drug on transplant patients taking immune suppressants, which increases their risk of developing skin cancer within five years of having a transplant.
Dr Varigos said the tanning industry would probably seek to replicate the drug, which makes the user slightly darker by activating pigmentation.
Herald Sun 22/12/2009 p. 31.
Skin: Sunscreen's small risk
A number of sunscreens could be "unsafe" and may themselves cause skin cancer, the Cancer Council claims.
Many of today's sunscreens use nanoparticles, tiny particles which make the cream invisible. But environmental group Friends of the Earth, and the Cancer Council are concerned not enough testing has been done.
Cancer Council Australia Chief Executive Officer Professor Ian Olver said there was no way of knowing if nanoparticles caused harm.
"The concern is that the nanopartides could enter underneath the skin and damage the DNA, possibly causing skin cancer,"
A report by Friends of the Earth released yesterday found only 25 sunscreens on the Australian market were nano-free. They included Invisible Zinc, promoted by Elle McPherson, Coles own brands and Woolworths Select.
Daily Telegraph 22/12/09 p.15, Herald Sun 22/12/09 p. 31.
Skin: Tot's burns spark sun care law push
Skin: tanning salon laws on ice in ACT Skin: solariums on decline Skin: Sun setting on tanning salons Skin: Lack of vitamin D exposed
Calls were renewed yesterday for mandatory sun protection laws in childcare centres and schools as a young mother said she planned legal action after her toddler received second-degree sunburn while in care.
Sixteen-month-old Ozzy Buisson is recovering after his arms were badly burnt, allegedly while playing at Kingaroy's Jumping Beans Children's Community Child Care 12 days ago.
Queensland Cancer Council spokeswoman Anne Savage said yesterday the incident strengthened the council's push for state regulations to ensure sun protection policies were enforced.
"Policies and guidelines are not effective in meeting our minimum responsibility to protect our infants and young people from the threat of skin cancer," the council said. "Self regulation of sun safety in childcare centres and schools has failed."
Co-founder of CareforKids.com.au, Roxanne Elliott, said it was time for parents and childcare centres to review their sun protection policies and make sure everyone stuck to them.
David Dart, of sunscreen manufacturer Hamilton Laboratories, said many people unwittingly believed sunscreen alone was sufficient protection for children.
"Young skin is incredibly sensitive and highly susceptible to sun damage and needs to be carefully protected," he said.
Ms Savage said sunburn could happen very quickly "sometimes within minutes". She said infants were particularly susceptible to sunburn, depending on what time of day it was and the child's skin type.
Courier Mail, 5/11/09, p11
Despite renewed calls from the Cancer Council, the ACT Government maintains it will not introduce tighter restrictions on tanning salons until the end of the year.
New research commissioned by the Cancer Council shows the number of solariums has dropped in all the states and territories except Canberra.
In the ACT, which is the only jurisdiction without tough tanning restrictions, the number of solariums increased from 21 to 23.
Most states and territories have regulations on the tanning industry, mostly in response to a campaign by Melbourne woman Claire Oliver, who died from melanoma after using solariums.
Health Minister Katy Gallagher's office said the Government was in favour of regulation but was waiting for a national approach on solariums.
Ms Gallagher would take the matter to the next meeting of Australian health ministers but any national regulation would not be enacted until at least December.
Greens MLA Amanda Bresnan said national regulation often took a lot longer than expected and the ACT should follow the other states and territories. "Given that...we're the only state [or] territory where there has been an increase, if we don't see [regulation] by December the ACT really needs to act on this."
Canberra Times, 8/10/09, p7
The number of solariums across Australia has declined by a third, according to new research.
A review of the Yellow Pages over three years has found solariums appearing in the directory have fallen from 406 to 278.
The research, published yesterday in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, showed Melbourne had the biggest fall by 50%. But Sydney's market only declined by 14%.
Cancer Council Australia said there was a link between legislation and reductions in solarium numbers.
Daily Telegraph, 7/10/09, p11; Adelaide Advertiser, 7/10/09, p1
The number of tanning solariums in Melbourne has plummeted in the past three years, with tougher legislation and consumers' heightened fear of skin cancer causing more than half of the city's sunbed salons to close down.
A new audit of the industry has revealed a dramatic decrease in the number of solariums in Australian capital cities, dropping from 406 to 278, or by almost a third, since 2006. In Melbourne, the number fell from 169 to 82 a drop of 51 percent.
According to the research by Cancer Council Victoria, based on listings in the Yellow Pages and to be published next week in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, Melbourne's fall was the largest, followed by Hobart (42 per cent), Adelaide (33 per cent) and Perth (25 per cent).
Experts say the fall is due to increased awareness following the death of campaigner Clare Oliver, who died of melanoma in 2007, tougher legislation, and effective skin cancer campaigns. Operators say the economic downturn has also contributed to the dive in demand.
According to the 2006 audit, Melbourne had 100 more solariums than Sydney, but that gap is now closer to 30.
"There is no doubt in Melbourne that the Clare Oliver story triggered the opportunity to get the message through clearly...but also if you look at the figures, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, which are the three states that implemented legislation to control solariums, have had the biggest falls," Cancer Council Australia CEO Professor Ian Olver said yesterday.
Age, 30/9/09, p7
Researchers believe a lack of exposure to the sun has contributed largely to more people suffering a vitamin D deficiency.
While using sunscreen and avoiding sun exposure has reduced the instance of skin cancer, American preventive health expert Dr Greg Petersburg believes it has also created potentially one of the world's greatest health problems.
"Recent clinical studies have documented the fact that most people are vitamin D deficient. This has major implications for diseases including diabetes, heart disease, obesity, hypertension, and cancer," he said.
"Vitamin D is the forgotten hormone." Dr Petersburg believes a combination of lifestyle and dietary changes such as a lack of sun exposure, movement into darker industrial cities and a lack of vitamin D in diets have contributed to the large number of people with a vitamin D deficiency.
Herald Sun, 28/9/09, p14
Skin: Melanoma drug shrinks tumours
Medical researchers have claimed a dramatic advance in the fight against one of the world's deadliest cancers, after showing an experimental drug can dramatically shrink tumours caused when melanoma spreads inside the body.
An early-phase trial of the drug involving 31 patients showed more than half, 64 per cent, of the 22 patients who had been evaluated saw their tumours shrink by at least 30 per cent for one month. Six more of the 22 also showed a response, but to a lesser extent.
All the patients had a mutation on the BRAF gene that is implicated in about 50 per cent of melanomas and 5 per cent of colorectal cancers.
The drug, known as PLX4302, prevents the mutation from forcing cells to divide uncontrollably.
The results were unveiled at Europe's largest cancer congress in Berlin and were welcomed by Australian experts attending the conference.
Cancer Council Australia CEO Professor Ian Olver said the findings had caused excitement because the 64 per cent response rate seen in the 22 patients evaluated so far was double the rate seen with conventional chemotherapy.
"This trial gives great encouragement to look for other targeted therapies in melanoma," Professor Olver said.
Paul Chapman, an attending physician on the melanoma sarcoma service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York and one of the leaders of the trial, told a news briefing he was "very excited about these results".
"A lot of these patients were pretty sick but many of them had a significant and rapid improvement in the way they function," Dr Chapman said. "We are seeing some pretty dramatic and rapid responses, and they are occurring in sites where we rarely see responses to chemotherapy, such as in the bone." He said there were some "important caveats", including the fact that some patients suffered side-effects such as other non-melanoma skin cancers developing.
A large trial is expected to start within months, involving hundreds of patients at centres across North America, Europe and Australia.
Australian, 25/9/09, p3; Courier Mail, 25/9/09, p10; Hobart Mercury, 25/9/09, p13; West Australian, 25/9/09, p13; Canberra Times, 25/9/09, p8
Skin: Skin cancer boost
Scientists working on a promising lead in the battle against skin cancer received a boost on Wednesday when a study showed their technique had some success in first phase clinical trials.
Scientists testing a cancer pill that blocks a specific cell regulator - dubbed the Hedgehog signalling pathway - said the drug shrank some skin cancers in small-scale trials. The study showed it had some success reducing the size of metastatic basal cell skin cancers.
Details of the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Thirty-three people were treated with the GDC-0449 compound; 18 showed tumour shrinkage or improvement in symptoms without tumour growth, the report stated.
The drug also showed some initial success in tackling one type of brain tumour, although the gains were later reversed, according to a related report in Science Express.
Herald Sun, 4/9/09, p49
Skin: Close cuts prove too hairy
Skin cancer researchers have warned Queenslanders to think twice before they lop off their locks.
The warning follows a study by the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and Queensland University of Technology which found an increase in the number of women contracting melanomas on their ears.
QUT Professor Michael Kimlin said a rise in the popularity of short haircuts could be to blame.
"We used mannequins to test the level of sun protection hair can provide for ears and found it reduced solar ultraviolet-B exposure by 81 per cent," he said. "The right sort of haircut can provide good protection to not only the ears but also the scalp and neck."
Courier Mail, 3/9/09, p11
Skin: Devices help GPs better spot melanomas
GPs using simple hand-held devices rather than the naked eye to screen patients for skin cancer are twice as likely to pick up deadly melanomas and far less likely to take off harmless lesions, a Perth-based study has found.
The findings of the study that involved 63 Perth GPs are published in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Researchers from the University of Sydney and the Sydney Melanoma Diagnostic Centre said that provided they had the right equipment, GPs could accurately diagnose most patients with suspect skin lesions, reducing the need for expensive referrals and having to remove lesions.
West Australian, 2/9/09, p7
Skin: Schools urged to stress sun safety
Children as young as eight are being diagnosed with skin cancers, prompting calls from experts to review how the sun safety message is spread in schools.
Doctors and researchers say it is more effective to show students how sun damage affects them personally than graphic "scare campaigns" or statistics.
Year 12 students at one public high school have created a short film based on their friend's diagnosis with a melanoma to convince others their age to slip, slop, slap.
University of Adelaide Associate Professor of surgery Brendon Coventry said "a lot of the damage" caused by sun exposure happens before the age of eight. "I've had a number of young people with melanomas, aged 14 or 16. The youngest has been eight," he said. "It's not that common but you do see it."
He urged schools to more strictly enforce sun safety policies and, where possible, avoid holding outdoor physical education lessons or sporting events between 10.30am and 3.30pm when UV levels were at their most dangerous.
In Queensland, AusSun Research Lab director Professor Michael Kimlin said he had begun a project which takes technology into schools to scan children for sun damage.
"We actually take images of people's faces and show them, using a special UV camera, the sun damage that's in their skin already," he said.
Adelaide Advertiser, 1/9/09, p31
Skin: $4m to fight skin cancer
Anti-solarium campaigner Clare Oliver will be honoured by a multi-million-dollar grant to fund skin cancer research.
The bulk of the $4.2 million announced yesterday will go to a new melanoma research team headed by Ms Oliver's oncologist Prof Grant McArthur. The rest, $1 million, went to a SunSmart campaign aimed at young people in the lead-up to summer.
Herald Sun, 29/8/09, p19
Skin: A tan’s fatal attraction
Skin cancer can kill so why do so many people ignore the warnings? That’s the key question exercising minds at the Queensland University of Technology, where researchers are conducting a national study to find new ways to encourage adolescents and other sunlovers to ditch the tan.
Lead investigator Dr Katherine White, of QUT’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, said there was a big difference between people knowing why they should be sensible in the sun, and actually doing it.
"Given Australia’s high skin cancer rates, there is still a vital need for research into why people do or don’t practise sun-safe behaviours," she said.
The research team will survey 400 adults, conduct focus groups, and test a school-based program for people aged 12 to 17.
Courier Mail, 21/8/09, p18
Skin: Gene test shows sun-sensitive melanoma risk
The use of genetic testing to identify patients at increased risk of melanoma may be a reality within five years, Australian experts say.
Identifying patients with high-risk genes could help forewarn them to use extra sun protection measures.
Writing in The Lancet, Professor John Thompson and colleagues from the Melanoma Institute Australia said particular genes, CDKN2A and CDK4, which are both involved with cell-cycle regulation, were strongly associated with increased melanoma risk.
Other genes, involved with pigmentation, were associated with a smaller increased risk, but did contribute to melanoma predisposition.
Associate Professor Graham Mann from Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research, Sydney, is currently researching melanoma genetic studies. He said the two high-risk genes were rare, so testing would be applied very selectively – to those with three or more melanomas in first- or second-degree relatives.
However, testing for the relatively lower-risk but more common pigmentation genes could become part of a routine risk assessment soon, he said.
Medical Observer, 7/8/09, p3
Skin: Sun risk ‘overstated'
Warnings that too much sunshine can lead to the most deadly form of skin cancer have been over-emphasised, a study has claimed.
It found that, although sunbathing is a risk factor, the number of moles on a person 's skin is the most important indicator of whether they will go on to develop melanoma.
The scientists also identified two genes that dictate how many moles someone will have, and their risk of getting skin cancer.
The research, published in the journal Nature Genetics, is likely to reopen the debate over whether official health warnings about avoiding the sun are overstated and too general.
The study 's authors said such warnings would be more useful if they focused on those most at risk namely anyone with more than 100 moles on their body, redheads and people with fair skin and taught them how to check their moles for changes in shape, size or colour.
Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King 's College London, and one of the new study 's authors, said: "The number of moles you have is one of the strongest risk factors for melanoma stronger even than sunshine."
Dr Veronique Bataille, a dermatologist at West Hertfordshire NHS Trust, added: "You often read that nearly all melanomas are caused by sunshine, which is not supported by the evidence.
"Let 's keep sunshine in the picture because it does make you age and causes you wrinkles. But let 's move away from scaring people by saying they are going to die because they go in the sun."
Courier Mail, 14/7/09, p5; Herald Sun, 14/7/09, p9
Skin: Sunbeds upgraded to serious cancer risk
World health experts have declared sunbeds to be an unambiguous cancer risk and have elevated them into the highest danger category, pulling them alongside better-known threats such as radium and plutonium.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer, which reviews cancer risk for the World Health Organisation, made its last assessment in 1992, when it said there was insufficient evidence artificial sources of ultraviolet light caused human cancers.
Its latest report, published yesterday, said evidence had emerged that showed UV-emitting tanning devices increased an individual 's melanoma risk by 15 per cent. The background risk soared by about 75 per cent if someone had been using sunbeds before the age of 30, said the report, published in The Lancet Oncology.
The IARC moved all ultraviolet radiation into the top-risk category, alongside all types of ionising radiation.
UV radiation had previously been categorised as "probably" cancer-causing, with the harmful effects believed to be limited to a subset of UV rays called UVB which make up about 5 per cent of the UV in sunlight that reaches the earth 's surface.
However, UVA rays had since been found to cause skin cancer in mice, the report found.
Bruce Armstrong, professor of public health at the University of Sydney and a member of the working group that made the findings, said experts "can now say unequivocally that artificial sources of solar radiation including ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices can cause both skin and eye melanomas".
"The IARC has confirmed what many Australians have long suspected: tanning devices emitting ultraviolet rays are dangerous and can cause cancer," he said.
The tanning industry in Australia has already faced regulation, following the death from melanoma in 2007 of 26-year-old Melbourne woman Claire Oliver. Tanning salons must now turn away customers with the fairest skin types and those aged under 18, obtain a signed disclaimer and place warning notices by machines.
Cancer Council Australia CEO Professor Ian Olver said the WHO findings "emphasise how dangerous it is to use a solarium. The message is clear: do not use a solarium if you want to minimise your cancer risk."
Australian, 30/7/09, p3; West Australian, 30/7/09, p17; Hobart Mercury, 30/7/09, p3; Courier Mail, 30/7/09, p27; Canberra Times, 30/7/09, p6; Adelaide Advertiser, 30/7/09, p23; Daily Telegraph, 30/7/09, p5; Herald Sun, 30/7/09, p3; Age, 30/7/09, p7
Skin: Newly discovered genes point to doubled risk of melanoma
Scientists have discovered two new genes that together double a person's risk of developing melanoma. As part of an international research project, a team of scientists from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research studied the genes of nearly 6000 people, together with their mole counts.
QIMR professor Nick Hayward said his team discovered two genes that increase melanoma risk by influencing the number of moles a person has.
In a follow-up study of a further 4000 people, the researchers went on to show the same two genes also increase the risk of moles developing into melanoma.
"It has long been known that having a large number of moles is the biggest risk factor," Professor Hayward said. "Therefore we predicted we would find genes linking moles and melanoma. We now have conclusive genetic evidence that having a large number of moles increases an individual's risk of developing melanoma."
The study found that people who carry one of these two gene variants from one parent have a 25% greater chance of developing melanoma, and people who carry variants from both parents have double the risk.
Australian, 6/7/09, p6; Sydney Morning Herald, 6/7/09, p3; Herald Sun, 6/7/09, p7; Canberra Times, 6/7/09, p5; West Australian, 6/7/09, p9; Northern Territory News, 6/7/09, p9; Hobart Mercury, 6/7/09, p9; Daily Telegraph, 6/7/09, p10; Courier Mail, 6/7/09, p6; Adelaide Advertiser, 6/7/09, p11
Skin: Tanning salons are fading fast
Victoria's solarium industry is on the brink of collapse, with increased skin cancer fears and a crackdown on rogue operators sparking a 45% drop in the number of tanning salons.
Government figures show that 196 businesses have either closed or removed their sunbeds since State Government regulations were introduced in February last year.
Owners say customers started abandoning tanning salons following the public cancer battle of 26-year-old Clare Oliver, who died in September 2007 from melanoma she and her oncology team linked to solarium use.
Since the introduction of the laws...the number of tanning salons across the state has plummeted from 436 to 240. But while cancer experts celebrate the news, the industry claims it is a victim of a scare campaign that saw solarium operators compared to heroin dealers.
Craig Sinclair, director of cancer prevention at Cancer Council Victoria, said the scale of the tanning industry's downturn was a world first.
The number of individual tanning beds in Victoria has dropped by 36% - from 1021 in December 2007 to 656.
Sunday Age, 21/6/09, p5
Treatment: Sugar key to cancer
Studies of the way cancer cells use sugar are expected to lead to new ways to control the disease. Dr Perry Nisen, senior vice-president in charge of research and development at drug company GlaxoSmithKline, said the next wave of cancer drug development would focus on cell metabolism.
"The cancer cells, it turns out, get their energy differently than normal cells and they have a much more limited repertoire of how they get their sugar and how they use that energy," he said.
"We believe that there are certain targets against which we can make medicine that ought to have a powerful impact on cancer cells that normal cells could pretty much work their way around."
Sunday Telegraph, 21/6/09, p38
Skin: Melanoma cure hope
A world-first cancer breakthrough tested in Melbourne is offering many melanoma sufferers their first hope of a cure. A joint trial in the US and at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has been able to shrink the tumours in more than half the patients who carry a melanoma-causing mutated gene.
In the first group of 16 patients treated with the new PLX4032 medication, more than half saw their tumours shrink significantly and most of the others had some improvement.
Half of all melanoma victims carry the mutated gene. Developed by pharmaceutical company Plexxikon, the personalised medicine matches a patient's gene changes to their medication, rather than offering set treatment for everyone.
Herald Sun, 6/6/09, p25
Skin: Research sheds new light on melanoma risk factors
If you have red or blonde hair, or had outdoor summer jobs as a teenager, you may be up to 10 times more likely than the general population to develop melanoma, new research shows.
A study conducted by MoleMap by Dermatologists, based on research by New York University Medical Centre, has identified six factors that help predict the risk of people developing melanoma.
These include a history of blistering sunburns as a teenager, red or blonde hair, marked freckling on the upper back, family history of melanoma, history of scaly patches of skin on sun-exposed areas and outdoor summer jobs for three or more years as a teenager.
Having one of these factors means you are three times more likely than the general population to get a melanoma, while having two or more results in a 10 times increased likelihood of developing melanoma.
Canberra Times, 8/6/09, p3; Herald Sun, 8/6/09, p4; Hobart Mercury, 8/6/09, p3; Age, 8/6/09, p5; Adelaide Advertiser, 8/6/09, p7
Treatment: Chemo dose computer program still not in use
The hospital at the centre of a chemotherapy overdose bungle is not using a computer program designed to prevent the problem happening again. The Women's and Children's Hospital bought the software last November after 11 of its patients were given overdosed treatments between 2005 and 2008.
The hospital says the "oncology information management system" is complex to introduce and it is still working on training staff and setting up the computer program for pediatric use.
The Australian Medical Association, which says doctors have been asking for the software for years, is now demanding its installation.
Sunday Mail Adelaide, 7/6/09, p9
Treatment: `Charlatan' claims to cure cancer
An "outright charlatan" operating in Adelaide's inner northeastern suburbs is promising to cure cancer by opening and draining tumours.
A man is circulating a leaflet saying he cured his own cancer in a day with a "breakthrough treatment". "All other toxic tumours were opened and drained later and simultaneously the body's energies increased sharply," he writes. "Additionally, other toxicities blocking the energy production within cells of the body were detoxified using the Advanced Energy Medicine technologies."
Australian Medical Association state president Dr Andrew Lavender said false claims to cure cancer were "preying on people who are in desperate need of help". "(He is an) outright charlatan with no basis in evidence for any of his claims," he said.
"He risks giving people who are at the lowest points of their lives false hope and, even worse, possibly diverting them from what might be appropriate and life-saving treatment."
Royal Adelaide Hospital Cancer Centre clinical director Professor Dorothy Keefe said cancer patients "shouldn't part with money for anything which is unproven". "I think cancer patients should be very wary of any wonder treatments that claim to cure cancer," she said. "Any patient who has cancer should raise these issues with their oncologist . . . or they should ring the Cancer Council helpline as they have trained counsellors who are able to give advice."
Adelaide Advertiser, 11/6/09, p20
One of a new generation of drugs targeting cancer-causing genes has had positive results in a clinical trial on melanoma patients whose cancer has stopped progressing.
Researchers say the results of a joint US and Australian study of the drug PLX4032 have given new hope to melanoma sufferers because traditionally the cancer has been very difficult to treat.
Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has been taking part in the trial of the drug, which targets a gene mutation which causes cancer and is found in half of malignant melanomas. The gene has also been found in 8% of all solid tumours, including one in 10 colorectal cancers and a third of thyroid cancers.
"PLX4032 has shown both tumour shrinkage and apparent delay in tumour progression in patients whose tumours harbour a BRAF mutation, as well as reports of clinical symptom improvement in some patients," Associate Professor Grant McArthur said.
Professor McArthur is the principal investigator of the Australian arm of the trial at the Peter MacCallum centre. "Seven years after BRAF mutations were first identified, we have validation that this mutation is a cancer driver and therapeutic target," he said. "This is a new and important chapter in the story of targeted therapy development in cancer and we are especially excited for our melanoma patients, for whom there are currently few treatment options."
While oncologists are excited by the findings, the trial has been conducted on a small number of patients and further clinical trials are now essential.
West Australian, 17/6/09, p7
Skin: Melanoma treatment hope
Hope is growing for an effective vaccine for metastatic melanoma. A study, released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's recent meeting in Florida, showed people who have a special vaccine added to the standard treatment of interleukin lived almost five months longer.
The vaccine in this study caused the melanoma to stop growing or shrink for more than twice as many patients than those who received interleukin alone. It had few side effects.
Australian Financial Review, 4/6/09, p55
Hope is growing for an effective vaccine for metastatic melanoma. A study, released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's recent meeting in Florida, showed people who have a special vaccine added to the standard treatment of interleukin lived almost five months longer.
The vaccine in this study caused the melanoma to stop growing or shrink for more than twice as many patients than those who received interleukin alone. It had few side effects.
Australian Financial Review, 4/6/09, p55
Skin: Peplin ‘positive' on trial of sun spot treatment
Skin treatment specialist Peplin has reported "positive" results from a late-stage clinical trial of its gel to treat pre-cancerous sun spots. It says it is on track to have the product on the market by early 2011.
Brisbane-based Peplin yesterday released the results of a phase III trial in the use of its weed-derived gel, PEP005, to treat actinic keratosis lesions on arms, body and legs. Among the 255 patients from Australia and the US, the median reduction in the number of lesions was 66.7%, with 27.4% of patients having all of their lesions successfully treated.
Age, 19/5/09, p4; Courier Mail, 19/5/09, p55; Northern Territory News, 19/5/09, p9; Herald Sun, 19/5/09, p26
Treatment: Sydney Uni drops radiation therapy course
The University of Sydney will drop its undergraduate course in radiation therapy from next year, raising fears of a shortage of trained workers.The university will continue with a qualification in radiation therapy at postgraduate level, which means students first must complete a three-year undergraduate qualification, such as a science degree. A spokesman for the university said the change was in line with a move towards graduate entry for many of its professional degrees. Michael Barton, professor of radiation oncology at the University of NSW, said radiation therapy was taught only at the universities of Sydney and Newcastle. "This change will prolong...training and greatly reduce the number of people going into training," he said. Cancer Council NSW CEO Dr Andrew Penman, says the number of linear accelerators used for radiotherapy needs to increase from 42 to 76 by 2015, as the population ages. A third of cancer patients who could benefit from radiation therapy do not receive it, he said, and about 51,000 people missed out on adequate radiation treatment in the 10 years to 2006.
Sydney Morning Herald, 22/5/09, p6
Skin: Solarium licenses (NSW)
Solarium operators will be forced into a registration scheme and banned from claiming that sunbeds are safe for tanning under stronger regulations announced by the NSW Government today.
The new laws, to come into force within weeks, will also introduce fines of up to $11,000. Draft regulations made public in December proposed a ban on solarium use for people under 18 and those assessed as fair-skinned, but skin cancer advocated argued the rules were weak without some form of licensing system for solarium businesses.
Sydney Morning Herald, 11/5/09, p2
Skin: Melanoma checks
New study results serve as a reminder that checking male patients for melanoma could save their lives. US researchers surveyed 227 men over the age of 40 who had been diagnosed with melanoma, and found that more than 95% of cancers on the back of the body spotted by a doctor (not necessarily a dermatologist) were less than 2mm thick, compared with 63% of self-detected melanomas and 76% of partner-detected lesions.
Unsurprisingly, back lesions comprised almost half of all physician-detected melanomas, compared to just 16% of self-detected lesions.
The study is published in Archives of Dermatology.
Australian Doctor, 1/5/09, p15
Skin: It's hats off to the sunny D-day doses (TAS)
It's time to throw away the hat and start soaking in the sunshine, the Cancer Council says. From today through to August 31, people are encouraged to consider their vitamin D levels.
Tasmanians have a high risk of vitamin D deficiency, with 67% of women and 34% of men suffering insufficient levels, a Menzies Research Institute study found.
Cancer Council Tasmania's director of cancer control Celia Taylor said, "The sun is both the enemy and friend and it's a friend between May 1 and August 31 because it gives us the vitamin D we desperately need for bones, muscles and health in general."
Hobart Mercury, 1/5/09, p5
Skin: Sun hats in high school (WA)
High-school students in WA will have to wear wide-brimmed hats to protect them from the sun if the Cancer Council gets its way. The council is urging the WA Government to make it compulsory for students to wear hats during recess, lunchtime and while participating in sport.
SunSmart manager Kerry O'Hare is calling for an extension of primary school policy before another summer hits WA secondary schools.
Ms O'Hare said schools with teenagers failed to promote sun awareness. There were no high schools in the Perth metropolitan area participating in the Cancer Council's SunSmart program.
Education Minister Liz Constable said public high schools were required to have policies regarding sun-smart behaviour.
Ms O'Hare said high school policy was too broad and did not go far enough.
Sunday Times, 26/4/09, p3
Skin: School hats push (VIC)
Parents want secondary schools to introduce mandatory wide-brimmed hats, despite protests from their children that they are unfashionable.
Parents said teenagers should be forced to wear hats up to year 12 - just as students were in primary school under SunSmart policies.
Parents Victoria called for the new rules after a groundswell of support among parents following a warning from the Cancer Council that Australian teenagers had the highest rate of malignant melanoma in the world.
The council said skin cancers in Australians aged between 12 and 24 were twice as common as other cancers.
Sunday Herald Sun, 26/4/09, p31
Skin: $500,000 for melanoma vaccine
Climate change is tipped to cause more cases of skin cancer in Australia. A company working on a melanoma vaccine said climate change would damage the ozone layer in some regions, boosting the risk of skin cancer.
Chief scientist at Canberra company Lipotek, Ines Atmosukarto, said, "Climate change affects ozone by heating the lower stratosphere where most of the ozone exists."
Dr Atmosukarto, a molecular biologist, warned tropical regions were expected to be hardest hit by climate-related ozone depletion.
Lipotek has received $500,000 in Federal Government funding to develop its skin cancer vaccine, which is aimed at patients who already have melanoma.
It is hoped the vaccine will induce the patient's immune system to attack tumour cells.
Canberra Times, 22/4/09, p4; Adelaide Advertiser, 22/4/09, p16; Daily Telegraph, 22/4/09, p9
Skin: River life ups risk of melanoma
Living near the river or coast is associated with an increased risk of melanoma, an SA study suggests. Analysing almost 20 years of data from Adelaide and 11 regional centres, researchers found living within 2km of the Murray River was associated with a 25% increased incidence of melanoma compared with living inland.
Similarly, melanoma incidence was 19% higher in coastal SA compared with inland areas, the study found. "This geographical effect remains after adjustment for age and socio-economic status," the authors said.
However, while geography seemed to have a significant effect on the risk of developing melanoma, it did not appear to affect a person's risk of dying from the disease.
Melanoma prevention and acute care programs could be usefully targeted at people living in coastal and river areas, the authors concluded.
"There is a large elderly population in coastal South Australia, which requires input in preventative and acute health services in melanoma," they said.
The research is published in Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. Australian Doctor, 24/4/09, p12
Skin: Lack of sun glaring error, doctor says
A lack of sun exposure has fuelled an increase in vitamin D deficiencies and specialists are warning Australians to take action this winter. Those most at risk include babies born and breastfed by vitamin D deficient mothers, people who spend most of their time indoors and those with darker skin or who cover their skin for cultural or religious reasons.
Canberra Hospital paediatric endocrinologist Tony Lafferty said at-risk populations needed to be actively screened for the deficiency.
Westmead Children's Hospital staff specialist endocrinologist Craig Munns said the reported increase in vitamin D deficiency in Australia and throughout the world was a result of changing lifestyles and migration patterns.
Cancer Council Australia skin cancer committee chairman Craig Sinclair said it was critical to continue to promote a sun safety message: "Over the summer, it can take a matter of 10 to 15 minutes for the first signs of sunburn to occur." Its recommendation is that people get up to three hours of sun per week during the winter to allow the face, arms and hands sufficient UV exposure.
Canberra Times, 18/4/09, p10
Skin: camera reveals skin damage in a flash
A new camera that gives instant images of skin damage is proving a wake up call for Queensland sun worshippers. The digital camera, which is the only one of its type in Australia, reveals damage to the lower layers of facial skin as black areas - highlighting the risk of skin cancer.
It is being used as part of a groundbreaking Queensland University of Technology project investigating damage caused by sunbaking. Professor Michael Kimlin, of QUT's AusSun Research Laboratory, said teenagers often believed they were invincible. "Unfortunately young people still spend hours sunbaking on the beach and think a tan is a fashionable accessory," he said. "The benefit of the new camera is that people can see the damage there and then, and have irrefutable evidence that not protecting their skin is having consequences."
Professor Kimlin said he hoped in the future the technology would be rolled out across pharmacies for people to drop in and have their skin analysed.
The University is now looking for Queenslanders who want to take advantage of the technology and be part of the skin cancer study.
Courier Mail, 11/4/09, p34
Skin: TV ads turn off youths' urge to tan
Graphic advertisements that show the "dark side" of the iconic bronzed Aussie male have been effective in encouraging young people to slip, slop, slap, the NSW Government says.
A Cancer Institute of NSW survey of 1000 teens and young adults aged from 13 to 44 showed six out of 10 had upped their sun protection regimen or intended to be more sun smart after seeing the Dark Side of Tanning ads on billboards and TV.
A similar proportion of respondents said they would be less likely to try and get a tan after seeing the graphic animation of a melanoma spreading through the body of a young man playing football in the park with his mates.
Sun Herald, 5/4/09, p28
Research: Master gene link in cancer discovery
Combining the number-crunching power of computers with exploration of the genetic code, scientists said yesterday they had identified a cancer master gene as well as gene implicated in breast and skin tumours. They hope the research, published by separate teams in the journal Nature Genetics, could open avenues to identify people at risk and, potentially, new drugs to block the mechanisms that let cancers proliferate.
British researchers said a gene called UTX, found in the X gender chromosome, played the role of ringmaster in 10% of cases of multiple myeloma and one in 12 cancers of the oesophagus.
UTX controls an enzyme that contributes to the structure of DNA in our cells. The enzyme also acts as a switch, turning other genes on or off. Co-leader of the Cancer Genome Project at Britain's Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute Andy Futreal said, "It influences some of the most fundamental mechanisms controlling gene activity in our cells."
Researchers from the US National Institutes of Health meanwhile, said they had uncovered new insights into melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer. They found an enzyme gene called MMP-8 was designed to suppress tumour growth and variants in the gene helped cancers to proliferate.
Canberra Times, 30/3/09, p3; Herald Sun, 30/3/09, p26
Treatment: 5000 left without cancer treatment
Cancer patients are being denied lifesaving treatment, with State and Federal Government "buck passing" blamed for leaving up to 5000 people a year without radiotherapy.
In some parts of the state, dying patients are being forced to pay up to $8000 through private radiotherapy units or wait up to two months for a public facility because the State Government is under investing in equipment and services. At the same time the Federal Government is permitting private units to have a monopoly in rural areas.
Cancer Council NSW has slammed the governments for placing patients' lives at risk. Today it will hold a call-in for patients to describe their horror stories so a database can be compiled to lobby governments.
Chief executive officer Dr Andrew Penman said some people were foregoing the treatment because it was too costly. "There is a Medicare coverage but it doesn't pay the full cost if you go private," he said. "Some patients are waiting longer than the 21 days recommended to start treatment. Radiotherapy prolongs survival."
NSW only has 42 machines to treat the 19,000 cases a year that require radiotherapy, but the Cancer Council claims at least 5000 are missing out because of lack of machines and exorbitant private fees.
The Cancer Council wants the Government to provide at least 20 radiotherapy units by 2011.
The Cancer Council's radiotherapy call-in will be held all this month.
Daily Telegraph, 3/3/09, p3
Skin: strong black does wonders for skin
Caffeine can prevent skin cancer and improve people's complexion - but drinkers would have to down hundreds of espressos to have any benefit.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School showed caffeine helps eliminate UV-damaged cells by causing them to self-destruct leading to suggestions a coffee-based sunscreen may one day be developed.
The announcement of the discovery last night has prompted a Cancer Council warning not to ditch sunscreen in favour of a cappuccino. SunSmart program manager Sue Heward welcomed the research, but warned a practical application of the findings required further study.
"We reinforce the message that it is critically important for people to protect themselves from the sun and continue to use the five SunSmart sun protection methods," she said.
Herald Sun, 27/2/09, p7
Detection: landmark trial for cancer tool
Circadian Technologies last night signed on major private hospital operator Healthscope to test and market a breakthrough cancer diagnostic tool.
The tool, developed with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre over four years, will help pathology laboratories identify the hidden source of secondary cancers.
The software based tool was designed to diagnose the origin of tumours that have metastasised. Known as cancers of unknown primaries or CUP, they are the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths in Australia. Circadian's tool can reduce diagnostic times for CUP cancers by months.
The technology has been tested with archival samples, but Healthscope will clinically validate it using live patients before applying for regulatory approval.
Herald Sun, 25/2/09, p33
Skin: cash slip a slap for cancer education
Skin cancer experts say the Rudd Government must urgently commit to funding the national sun protection policy to counter mixed messages about vitamin D deficiency and educate new parents and immigrants on the dangers of ultraviolet rays.
Research released yesterday by Cancer Council Australia showed that spending just 28 cents for every Australian each year for two decades would prevent 80,000 cases of melanoma and 111,000 cases of other skin cancers.
The reports co-author, Professor Rob Carter from the Health Economics Unit at Deakin University, said the annual SunSmart campaign was one of the best public health buys available to government's yet there was no funding commitment beyond this summer.
The Cancer Council wants the Federal Government to commit to a nationwide, five-year, $41.5 million SunSmart campaign. "Set against an annual $290 million skin cancer medical bill, this is a strong government investment," Professor Carter said.
The report found when advertisements reminding people to "Slip, Slop, Slap" are removed, people become lax about protecting their skin against harmful UV rays. Graphic warnings such as NSW Health's recent "Dark Side of Tanning" campaign, are proven to get people wearing a hat, sunscreen, sunglasses and a shirt.
The chair of the Cancer Council's national skin cancer committee, Craig Sinclair, said the Rudd Government had not indicated it would fund a comprehensive program beyond this month. "It would be ironic if the current Labor Government, with its platform on health prevention, decides not to continue a project that was initiated by a Liberal government, who did not really invest in public health," he said.
Sun Herald, 22/2/09, p13; Sunday Tasmanian, 22/2/09, p16; Sunday Age, 22/2/09, p10; Sunday Mail Brisbane, 22/2/09, p30
Public health: chief medico named
Leading cancer specialist Jim Bishop will become Australia's new chief medical officer after Easter.
Professor Bishop is chief of the Cancer Institute NSW. His research interest are in clinical trials, anti cancer drug development, new cancer therapies, leukaemia, breast cancer and lung cancer.
Herald Sun, 20/2/09, p33; Adelaide Advertiser, 20/2/09, p31
Research: new cancer weapon
French specialists unveiled a new weapon against cancer yesterday - a molecular "decoy" that mimics DNA damage and prompts cancerous cells to kill themselves.
The research, published in a US journal, Clinical Cancer Research, opened fresh avenues for attacking tumours that were resistant to conventional therapy, they said.
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy aim at inflicting sufficient damage to a cancer cell to unleash a process of programmed cell death, also called apoptosis.
Clinical trials could start by the end of 2010.
Canberra Times, 16/2/09, p9; Adelaide Advertiser, 16/2/09, p29
Research: cancer research at risk
A leading cancer research centre at the Prince of Wales Hospital is being axed due to NSW Health's budget restraints. Millions of dollars of research into prostate cancer is now at risk, following the closure of the Oncology Research Centre, based at Randwick. A hospital spokeswoman last night confirmed negotiations were taking place with staff but would not comment further. It comes after The Daily Telegraph revealed last month that the hospital was planning to retrench up to 300 workers, including cancer researchers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Andrew Giles, Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia's CEO, said the loss of the cancer researchers would be tragic. Professor Pamela Russell, head of the 25 person research team "has so much knowledge and expertise and she is one of the greatest in the world," he said. "They are closing down one of the best research centres." A source at the Prince of Wales Hospital said the researchers were devastated by the news. "They are trying to see if other research centres can take on their research, otherwise they will have to give the grants money back." In an official statement, the hospital spokeswoman said: "We can neither confirm or deny. We are currently speaking with staff and will make no further comment."
Daily Telegraph, 13/2/09, p23
Skin: Discovery may alter melanoma treatment
The discovery of field cells that are sometimes present in apparently normal skin surrounding primary melanomas could change the way melanomas are removed.
These field cells are genetically melanoma cells, the recent annual Hawaii Dermatology Seminar was told.
A study has shown these cells extend a mean of 6.1mm beyond the margins of a non-invasive melanoma and 4.5mm beyond the margins of an invasive melanoma.
This was noteworthy because surgeons often use 5mm margins in removing non-invasive melanomas.
Australian Financial Review, 19/3/09, p58
Skin: green cream to beat cancer
Eating plenty of leafy greens has long been hailed as a weapon against cancer. Soon slapping them on your face could be another way to fight it.
Scientists say sunscreen based on compounds found in cabbage or broccoli could one day prevent the deadliest form of skin cancer.
They have already used the vegetable compounds to create a drug that slows the growth of malignant melanoma.
Herald Sun, 4/3/09, p24
Skin: surge in melanoma (International)
Melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, is now the most common in young British women.
Skin cancer has overtaken cervical cancer as the form of the disease striking women in their 20s, according to data from Cancer Research United Kingdom.
Younger people are not generally those most susceptible to melanoma. Rates of skin cancer are typically highest in people over age 75.
Adelaide Advertiser, 9/4/09, p66
Skin: sun safe grant launched (WA)
A new project aimed at curbing melanoma skin cancer has been launched in WA.
Under the skin cancer awareness campaign, backed with sponsorship from Suncorp, schools and sporting groups can apply for portable shade tents to protect children from the sun.
The campaign will also direct funds to the WA Institute for Medical Research's Scott Kirkbride Melanoma Research Centre to find better treatments for melanoma, which leads to 130 deaths a year.
West Australian, 8/4/09, p52
Skin: skin cancer gene finding
Up to 70% of melanoma skin cancers may be triggered by a gene mutation that causes cells to become cancerous after excessive exposure to the sun, researchers said today.
The discovery could lead to better treatments for the most deadly form of skin cancer after scientists at Britain's Institute of Cancer Research found the BRAF gene mutation was often the first event in the cascade of changes leading to melanoma.
Scientists already knew the gene was often damaged in patients with melanoma, but it was unclear if this was a cause or effect of the cancer.
MX Sydney, 7/4/09, p6; MX Melbourne, 7/4/09, p10
