Skin Cancer

Gov. Jerry Brown had a cancerous growth removed from the right side of his nose in an outpatient procedure Friday in Oakland, according to a statement released Saturday by the governor's office. After the procedure to remove basal carcinoma cells, and some reconstructive surgery, Brown was released to return home. Basal cell carcinoma is one of the most common forms of skin cancer, and can be caused by sun exposure. The statement released by Brown's office said the procedure was conducted under a local anesthetic.

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday bolstered the skimpy pharmaceutical arsenal against late-stage melanoma by approving Yervoy, the first drug shown to extend the lives of patients with the deadly skin cancer. The drug, marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. of Princeton, N.J., is the first FDA-approved treatment for metastatic melanoma in 13 years and has triggered particular interest among oncologists because there are indications that, in addition to prolonging some patients' lives, it may cure others.

The rich really are different from the rest of us – at least when it comes to skin cancer. That’s the conclusion of a new study from Archives of Dermatology that examined the incidence of melanoma among younger women of various income levels. Not only were melanoma rates highest among those with the highest incomes, the number of new diagnoses also grew fastest in that group too. A team of California researchers zeroed in on non-Hispanic white women between 15 and 39, a demographic for which the incidence of melanoma has doubled over the last 30 years.

Cancer treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, are more shotgun-scattered than precision-targeted. They damage bystanding healthy cells as they attack the tumor tissue, causing nasty side effects. Scientists would like to focus these therapies more narrowly on the cancer cells alone, and researchers in Toronto have come up with a new strategy. With a flick of a genetic switch, they've made cancer cells ultra-sensitive to radiation, thus killing tumors that normally withstand the treatment.

Teens and tanning beds aren't a healthy mix, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. The group urges banning children and teens from using indoor tanning devices because of an increased risk of skin cancer. In a policy statement released Monday, the organization says it favors outlawing access to tanning salons for children younger than 18. The statement cites several studies, including research that shows a link between people overexposed to the sun in childhood and melanoma, one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.

Full-body skin cancer exams are essential for catching the disease, but a study finds that those tests may not always happen for a number of reasons. The study, published Monday in the journal Archives of Dermatology , surveyed dermatologists, family practitioners and internists to find out how many regularly performed full-body skin assessments on patients. If the test didn't happen, they were asked what the obstacles were. Among 1,669 doctors, dermatologists got the gold star for doing the most regular full-body exams: 81.3%.

Are tanning beds still popular? Apparently so. A new study finds 18% of women and 6.5% of men in America say they use tanning beds, even though indoor tanning has been linked to an increased risk of skin cancer. Researchers at the University of Minnesota based their findings on surveys of 2,869 white people between age 18 and 64 who were asked about their recent indoor tanning habits. In addition, the study says, most didn’t know that using tanning beds could increase their chances of getting skin cancer.

Skin cancer rates are rising in the United States despite the well-known warnings to use sunscreen and avoid excessive sun exposure. There may be another tool to guard against non-melanoma skin cancers, however. A study released Monday shows the painkiller celecoxib -- or Celebrex -- helped prevent skin cancers in patients with precancerous lesions. Celebrex is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (or NSAID) that is used most often for arthritis pain. Researchers have long pondered its potential effectiveness as a cancer therapy.

Call it the case of the missing genetic material. No one knows exactly what causes melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, but researchers have identified something called a microRNA that may provide some clues to detecting and treating the disease. A team at the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute in Orlando, Fla., has discovered that microRNA211 appears in healthy skin pigment cells but not in melanoma cells. "It's disappearing, so it has something to do with the cancer," research team leader Dr. Ranjan Perera said in an Orlando Sentinel story . "If it is present in normal skin — and in benign tumors — we know it is not melanoma.

People with a rare, genetic condition that causes skin cancer usually studiously avoid sunlight in order to reduce their cancer risk. But, in doing so, these people increase their risk of vitamin D deficiency, researchers reported Monday. Basal cell nevus syndrome causes people to develop basal cell cancer lesions as early as adolescence. But in a study of 41 people with the condition, more than half were found to be deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin from exposure to sunlight.