20 May 2015“Reducing rates of indoor tanning among US youth is an important public health priority”, according to authors of a study recently published as an open access letter to the editor in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Among the findings was that “frequent indoor tanning was significantly more common among indoor tanners who were current smokers, tanned to improve their mood, had used social media related to tanning salons, or indicated it would be very hard to stop indoor tanning”.
16 May 2015Acquired melanocytic naevi in individuals with Fitzpatrick skin type V/VI have a distinct dermoscopic pattern from those with skin type I/II, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.
14 May 2015A paper published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology “should influence future staging of melanoma and improve the prognostic accuracy from future melanoma data sets”, according to Dr Ben Tallon, one of its authors. Dr Tallon is a Tauranga-based consultant dermatologist and dermatopathologist who is a member of the MelNet Executive Committee.
9 May 2015 Sunscreen use is low, especially among certain demographic groups, according to an analysis of cross-sectional data in the United States. The study authors conclude that their findings can inform sun-safety interventions and the interpretation of surveillance data on sunscreen use.
8 May 2015More than 40 per cent of sunbed operators involved in a recent mystery shopper survey failed to implement key safety checks, according to Consumer NZ. One operator also allowed a 14-year-old to use a sunbed, despite the industry’s voluntary standard restricting sunbed use to people 18 years and over. Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin said the results show regulation of the sector is needed.
5 May 2015A ban on commercial sunbeds in New Zealand has been rejected by the Health Select Committee, despite strong recommendations for such a ban by a number of agencies. While the Committee does support a ban for people under 18 years old, it makes no further recommendations for the regulation of sunbeds, e.g., by mandating adherence to standards for their operation, which remain voluntary.
2 May 2015A recently published report of a multicentre trial indicates that nivolumab de novo can prolong the life of patients with advanced melanoma to a greater extent than the chemotherapy agent dacarbazine.
26 April 2015Combination treatment with ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) led to higher response rates and longer progression-free survival (PFS) versus ipilimumab-only therapy, according to results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The randomized, double-blind phase II clinical trial evaluated the combination therapy versus monotherapy with ipilimumab in patients with BRAF wild-type advanced melanoma and those with BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma.
23 April 2015 The findings of a recent study comparing two drugs for metastatic melanoma represent "the most important development in the treatment of this disease ever, and a landmark in terms of cancer treatment in general," according to Professor Rick Kefford of the Melanoma Institute Australia. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the study found that the anti–PD-1 antibody pembrolizumab prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival and had less high-grade toxicity than did ipilimumab in patients with advanced melanoma.
23 April 2015The prevention and control of skin cancer featured in a live webcast of the April session of the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) Public Health Grand Rounds. The session, which is now available on the CDC website, addresses a range of topics, including evidence-based preventive interventions and the status of their implementation.
