Other Cancer

Squamous cell cancer; Basal cell cancer; Actinic keratosis, they all mean the same thing…skin cancer! Survival rates have been improving, however, and the increase in melanomas signs of skin cancer has occurred principally with thin, less aggressive forms of the disease. Some experts believe this is due to the increased awareness from effective public programs and earlier diagnosis. While exposure to sunlight is the number one preventable cause of melanoma, it is not the only cause. People at high risk include those with multiple moles, large moles or atypical moles.

Adolescents are at special risk for sun-related cancers. The majority fail to take protective measures when out in the sun. Boys are less likely to use sunscreen than girls, but girls have more likely to get sunburn and use tanning salons more often. Basal cell skin cancers usually occur on areas of skin that are regularly exposed to sunlight or other ultraviolet radiation. Once a suspicious lesion is found, a biopsy is needed to prove the diagnosis. Treatment skin care varies depending on the size, depth, and location of the cancer. Early treatment by a dermatologist may result in a cure rate of more than 95%.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as a cause of cervical cancer in women, but there's another devastating form of cancer also linked to HPV infection head and neck cancer and almost no one is talking about it. Right now I think the public and most physicians have no idea that HPV relates to head and neck cancer, said Dell Yarbrough, M.D., Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surgical oncologist. In cancers of the oropharynx, which includes the tonsils, the base of the tongue, and part of the throat, about half of those tumors are HPV-positive.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. researchers and women's health advocates want more federal funding for research on women who get lung cancer. Meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week, Phyllis Greenberger, head of the Society for Women's Health Research, said new research shows differences in susceptibility, progression and responsiveness to treatment in lung cancer between women and men. The Lung Cancer Alliance said lung cancer research is severely underfunded. The disease kills more than 70,800 women a year, 30,000 more than breast cancer.

FAIRFAX, Va. -- The American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology has published an updated version of its brochure Radiation Therapy for Gynecologic Cancers. The brochure provides women coping with a gynecologic cancer useful information on the different types of radiation therapy and their treatment options, as well as new information on the potential side effects and how to care for themselves while undergoing treatment.

HAIFA, Israel -- InSightec Ltd. has begun the second stage of its FDA approved Phase I clinical trial for non-invasive treatment of brain tumors using MR guided Focused Ultrasound Surgery on the ExAblate(r) system. The objectives of the study are to evaluate the safety of focused ultrasound delivered through an intact skull and to estimate the effect of the thermal ablation on the tumors. Patients with recurrent and inoperable glioblastomas or cerebral metastases are being recruited for this study.

WASHINGTON -- More than 80 women and men gathered at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill in the heart of Washington, D.C. to attend the First Annual Cervical Cancer/HPV Conference, conducted by the National Cervical Cancer Coalition (NCCC). During the two-day conference, controversial issues such as nationally mandating the cervical cancer vaccine for young women were tackled, as well as the discussion of debunking the stigma associated with HPV, a Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI).

Much of the world's cervical cancer problem can be solved with existing or soon-to-be-available technology, sufficient will, and modest resources, say authors of a Seminar in The Lancet (see also Cervical Cancer).

Ovarian cancer doesn't get the kind of attention breast cancer gets. It's not as common, and because survival rates are poor, it does not produce an army of survivors to raise awareness. It's traditionally known as the silent killer because it was thought to reveal no symptoms in its earliest, most curable stages (see also Cervical Cancer Screening). But ovarian cancer is silent no more. First, researchers recently reported a cluster of symptoms that can indicate ovarian cancer. And advocates both survivors and families are beginning to make noise and encourage awareness for this disease.

Women who have more than two alcoholic drinks a day double their risk of endometrial cancer compared with those who drink less, a new study finds. Researchers examined a multiethnic group of 41,574 postmenopausal women, following them for an average of eight years and using questionnaires about diet and drinking habits. In that time, the team found 324 cases of endometrial cancer, the type that forms in the tissue that lines the uterus. According to the National Cancer Institute, the United States has 40,000 new cases of endometrial cancer a year and 7,400 deaths.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated as a cause of cervical cancer in women, but there's another devastating form of cancer also linked to HPV infection - head and neck cancer - and almost no one is talking about it. "Right now I think the public and most physicians have no idea that HPV relates to head and neck cancer," said Dell Yarbrough, M.D., Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surgical oncologist. "In cancers of the oropharynx, which includes the tonsils, the base of the tongue, and part of the throat, about half of those tumors are HPV-positive.