Friday February 4th marked the sixth annual World Cancer Day, part of a global campaign to raise awareness of cancer and cancer prevention. Thus, we are focusing this CancerQuest newsletter around these themes: encouraging healthy lifestyles and providing hope for the future of cancer treatment and prevention.
The World Cancer Campaign was initiated in 2006 by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). Since 2008, each year has had an overall theme. This year's focused on preventing children from overexposure to UV light, which is responsible for 50-90% of skin cancers. Simple preventative measures such as applying sunscreen and wearing protective clothing, and avoiding tanning beds, are effective ways of minimizing UV exposure.
Thank you for your continuing support of CancerQuest! Education remains our primary mission, and your support of this mission remains, as always, invaluable.
Featured Article: New genetic test distinguishes between benign skin growths and melanoma.
Melanoma is an aggressive form of skin cancer. When detected early, melanoma can be surgically removed, with good outcomes. Researchers from North Carolina, New Mexico and Minnesota have developed a genetic test that is able to determine whether a biopsy sample is melanoma or a non-cancerous growth (nevus; plural-nevi).
While much cancer research focuses on changes in the sequence of DNA (mutations), the researchers chose to look at very subtle changes;they looked at changes in the methylation of the DNA.
Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in the world. The majority of these cases are linked to UV exposure, an avoidable risk factor. Unfortunately, this disease, which used to affect primarily older populations, is increasingly common in younger patients. This latter fact is associated with the rising popularity of tanning beds. There are three key types of skin cancer: squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, and melanoma. While the former two have a relatively low mortality rate, melanoma is an extremely aggressive cancer, and its incidence is increasing in both young women and the elderly.
In this interview, Lori Grice discusses her experience with cervical cancer and the use of vaccines to prevent infection with the human papillomavirus, the cause of cervical cancer.
CancerQuest has partnered with the American Cancer Society to create an interactive, multimedia documentary about radiation therapy. Radiation therapy is a common treatment option for cancer patients, and it can be used as both a standalone treatment and as a co-treatment alongside chemotherapy and/or surgery. Various factors determine whether or not radiation is a viable treatment option. Learn more by watching the video.
CancerQuest is an education program based at Emory University. The program empowers those affected by cancer by providing easily understood and up-to-date information. The core of the project is the CancerQuest website: www.CancerQuest.org.
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