People with the movement disorder Parkinson’s disease have a much higher risk of the skin cancer melanoma, and vice versa, a Mayo Clinic study finds. Yet the results of the study argue against the Parkinson's drug levodopa as the cause.
A team of researchers has pinpointed a sugar modification in cells that spurs the spread of skin cancer. Its findings spotlight a target in the battle against melanoma.
Genetic testing of tumor and blood fluid samples from people with and without one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer has shown that two new blood tests can reliably detect previously unidentifiable forms of the disease.
Changes in the genetic make-up of tissue samples can be detected quickly and easily using a new method based on nanotechnology. This report researchers from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute, the University of Basel and the University Hospital Basel in first clinical tests with genetic mutations in patients with malignant melanoma.
Researchers at the University of Bonn and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität of Munich have decoded a new mechanism of how the immune system can specifically attack pigmented cells of the skin. It was previously believed that natural killer cells did not have an immunological memory for the body's own tissues. However, the scientists have now showed that these immune cells can indeed…
On March 3, Radiotherapy Group clinicians at Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei (Ede, the Netherlands) used their Esteya electronic brachytherapy system for the first time to treat a 73-year-old male patient with a nodular basal cell carcinoma on his nose. Esteya is a form of high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy that applies high-precision radiotherapy directly to the cancer site, minimizing radiation to…
A number of innovative research results were presented at the 24th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology that took place in Copenhagen from 7 to 11 October 2015. Some of these results are expected to impact medicine far beyond dermatology, demonstrating the innovative character of the specialty.
A team of Tel Aviv University and Harvard Medical School researchers has devised a non-invasive technique that harnesses pulsed electric fields to generate new skin tissue growth. According to their research, the novel non-invasive tissue stimulation technique, utilizing microsecond-pulsed, high-voltage, non-thermal electric fields, produces scarless skin rejuvenation and may revolutionize the…
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and the Institute for Health Research of the Hospital "Ramón y Cajal" (IRYCIS have patented a new device for performing skin biopsies. With this new tool a skin biopsy can be performed with fewer instruments and the length of the procedure is shortened from thirty minutes to less than five.
In certain types of cancer, nerves and cancer cells enter an often lethal and intricate waltz where cancer cells and nerves move toward one another and eventually engage in such a way that the cancer cells enter the nerves.
With handyscope, FotoFinder presents the first device for mobile skin cancer examination via the iPhone. This digital handheld dermatoscope allows doctors to capture and save microscopic pictures of moles using the iPhone, the handyscope device and the corresponding handyscope app.
For the first time ever, the Nordic country of Sweden will host Europe’s largest dermatology meeting, the 19th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV), to take place in Gothenburg from 6-10 October, 2010. About 8,000 dermatology specialists - physicians, researchers, and scientists – from all around the globe are expected to participate in the meeting.
An increase in survival in metastatic melanoma – the cancer with the most rapidly increasing incidence across the EU – has been shown for the first time in a major international study by researchers from across Europe. The results showed that patients who received a novel monoclonal antibody called ipilimumab lived 34% longer than control patients given gp100 peptide vaccine.
High-frequency ultrasound with elastography can help differentiate between cancerous and benign skin conditions, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
The first joint congress ECCO 15 - ESMO 34 of the European CanCer Organisation (ECCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is taking place this week in Berlin. It is the only congress in Europe that covers the entire spectrum of cancer from basic science and translational research, to prevention, treatment, nursing and supportive care for all types of tumours.
A new initiative designed to inform and educate policymakers at national, European, and global level about the needs of the oncology community was launched at Europe's largest cancer congress, ECCO 15 — ESMO 34, in Berlin. The European Academy of Cancer Sciences will help to keep the interests of cancer patients at the forefront of the policy agenda, and avoid policy decisions that had a…
During a gathering of clinicians, scientists and economists at this year's Medical Technology Congress (Treffpunkt für Medizintechnik) held in Berlin's Charité Hospital, all 17 lectures focused on cancer treatments. Bettina Döbereiner reports
3D Net Perfusion, new software developed by The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) working with Biotronics3D, aims to improve the accuracy of MRI scan analysis and treatment efficacy by extracting data from tumour images and transforming it into usable information. In addition, the analytical tool provides a method to visualise and measure blood supply to cancers - a crucial factor in tumour…
A new study shows that a radioactive skin patch can safely and successfully treat basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common types of skin cancers, according to researchers from India. The skin patch, which delivers the radioactive phosphorus-32, is nontoxic and could be an excellent alternative to surgery or radiotherapy in cases where carrying out these treatments is difficult.
Accreditation and standards of Excellence in Europe
Early suspicions of cancer, either from clinical evidence or medical imaging, are often followed up on biopsy. However, the removal of tissue for histological analysis can be uncomfortable for patients.
Vulvar cancer is the fourth most common cancer of the female genital tract. In 2008, roughly 3,460 cases of vulvar cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and about 870 will die of this cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
More than 4,500 cancer and radiotherapy specialists will gather in Göteborg, Sweden, this September for the 27th annual congress of ESTRO. ESTRO 27 is to be held between the 14th and 18th September 2008 at the Göteborg Convention Centre in Göteborg.
Artiste is a linear accelerator and CT scanner combined. At the German Cancer Research Centre, a team of scientists led by Professors Wolfgang Schlegel and Uwe Oelfke of the Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology division, contributed substantially to the technical development of the Artiste platform. They report that users will be able to observe and correct the actual position, extension and…
Change is occurring at a rapid rate in cancer care - in many European countries cancer services are now being provided primarily in an ambulatory or outpatient setting with subsequent change of resources. Karen Luker, Professor of Community Nursing at the Universtiy of Manchester, UK, thinks that specialist nurses should not only refresh their knowledge of existing and new therapies. As the face…