Blonds Have More Skin Cancer

Driving is likely to blame, say researchers

(NEWSER) - Before you roll your car windows and set out on a summer road cruise, consider this: People in the US are more likely to get skin cancer on their left side, perhaps because of driving, new research shows. While driving, the left arm gets more UV. In cases where skin cancer occurred on only one side, 52% of melanomas and 53% of merkel cell carcinomas were on the left, USA Today reports. More»

Both can significantly increase survival for those with metastatic melanoma

(NEWSER) - Two new drugs offer new hope to patients with metastatic melanoma, the typically lethal advanced form of skin cancer. The trial of PLX4032, or vemurafenib, was so successful that the study was halted after three months so that all patients could receive the new drug, the Los Angeles Times reports. It is the first chemotherapy to target a specific mutation that occurs in 47% of melanoma patients. The study found it helped 48% of those patients, compared to just 5.5% who were taking the drug dacarbazine, the conventional treatment. More»

Mary Elizabeth Williams explains why it's not a petty concern

(NEWSER) - When Mary Elizabeth Williams found out that the cancer on her scalp had been successfully removed, her first feeling was relief … followed quickly by, “What do you mean I can't color my hair?” Williams, who has been chronicling her cancer experience on Salon , had a circle of skin removed from a scalp full of hair that's been “a flirty auburn by choice” for years. “A large portion of my head and my hair are gone forever. … I feel that loss keenly, every day,” she writes. More»

Breast cancer, ovarian cancer, melanoma yield to new approaches

(NEWSER) - New treatments for cancer—breast, ovarian, and skin—raised hopes at this weekend's meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. The findings aren't enough for Robert Langreth of Forbes , who sees "serious questions about whether big drug companies may be rushing too fast." Judge for yourself.

• A single dose of radiation administered at the site of tumor removal deterred recurrence of breast cancer as well as the standard grueling course of radiation on the entire breast, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Offers hope in fighting deadly melanoma

(NEWSER) - A new vaccine being tested in the UK may offer hope to patients suffering from the deadliest form of skin cancer. The drug, which attacks tumor cells and boosts the body's response to skin cancer without affecting healthy cells, appears to cure advanced melanoma in some patients. In a study of 50 melanoma patients, 16% who'd been given no more than nine months to live made full recoveries with the vaccine; another 28% saw their tumors shrink to half size. More»