STA-478, A New Skin Cancer Drug Treatment

There is a new skin cancer treatment that is causing a huge buzz. Huge enough that two major Drug makers, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Synta Pharmaceuticals Corp. will be collaborating on the development of an exciting and very promising new skin cancer drug treatment. This drug treatment has been shown to aid in even Stage 1V melanoma, which kills 70 per cent of its victims within one year

Named STA-4783, this is a new, injectable drug candidate that kills cancer cells by overloading cancerous cells with oxygen. Since cancer cells have a much lower tolerance for oxygen than non cancerous cell do, this causes them to self-destruct. This is a new category of anti cancer therapy, with remarkable potential.

In layman’s terms, STA-4783 raises the level of oxygen inside of the cancer cells. Cancer cells can not tolerate as much oxygen as normal cells, and this drug elevates the oxygen inside the cancer cell, and this causes the cell to pass the critical breading point, It then undergoes apoptosis, or programmed cell death. STA has little or no effect upon normal non-cancerous cells.

The fact that this anti cancer strategy can differentiate between the healthy and unhealthy cells targeting only the cancer cells is why scientists are so excited and are hopeful that this treatment will be successful in treating a broad range of cancers

In a double blind study, it was found that STA-4783 when used in moderate doses with Taxol (or paclitaxel), will double the progression free survival in Stage 1V melanoma as compared with Taxol along.

Melanoma is a very deadly skin cancer once it has spread past its site of origin. In Stage 1V melanoma, the cancer has spread all through the body, and the survival rate of people with Stage 1V metastic melanoma is 7-10 months. Since there are very few drugs that are useful for people with advanced skin cancer, this is an important breakthrough.

Chemicals can Increase Skin Sensitivity to Sunlight

There are real risks in using certain chemicals and then going out into the sun, because these chemicals actually increase the sensitivity or your skin to sunlight, which of course leads to sun burning, sun damage, and ultimately, possible skin cancer. The chemicals in coal tar pitch, sold as a soap, as well as certain printing chemicals that are used in photosensitive printing processes and certain petroleum products that have compound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in them can affect the skin by making it more susceptible to burning.
Like most everything to do with skin cancer, prevention works , so you must reduce not only your behavior i.e. not going out to tan in the sun without protection, but you must be aware of many things that increase your risk factor for developing skin cancer. If you reduce these behaviors that feed the risk factors you can lower the chance of developing skin cancer. In the following days I will write about all of these factors and how exactly to decrease your chances of developing this disease.

As you know, my father was diagnosed with Skin Cancer last year. I recently finished an excellent book on alternative cancer treatments called Natural Cancer Treatments That Work. The information in this book could help. There are over 350 gentle, non toxic treatments for cancer that nobody else will tell you about. Thousands of people have successfully used the alternative cancer treatments that are in this book. It is not just about skin cancer, but all cancers, as they really, are all related.

Who is at Risk For Skin Cancer and How Do You Get Skin Cancer?

Unfortunately the exact cause of skin cancer is not known at this time, but it is known that the number of reported cases of the disease has been steadily increasing since the 1980's. As with many diseases, there are many risk factors that are shown to be associated with Skin Cancer, such as exposure to UVB, UVA or to the sun, or exposure to different compounds and chemicals can trigger it.

Heredity also plays a part in your risk of getting this disease.For a while now, scientist have been trying to figure out the real reasons that people with Celtic Heritage are more at risk of developing skin cancer from the sun. Really, though, the sun can damage any skin type, and all skin types are susceptible to getting cancer. If you are of Celtic heritage (England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland) then you should be double careful in the sun.

Of course, you can't do much about genetic diseases or your genes, but you can take obvious steps so that you will not catch skin cancer.

The number one preventiive measure for Skin Cancer? Stay out of the sun. If you have heard it once, you have heard it a thousand times, "cover up" but did you that exposure to the sun is the biggest risk factor for you for developing skin cancer? And with minor precautions, most people will avoid getting skin cancer?

You must make a conscious effort to limit the amount of radiation to which your skin will be exposed to. Your number one priority is th reduce the amount of UV rays that hit your body. and limit all you can the amount of unprotected radiation your skin absorbs
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Of course, you can stay out in the sun if you are protected, A good way to get protection is to Cover up, protect your eyes with good sunglasses, put the highest SPF you can find aon all exposed parts of your skin, and ask your doctor or pharmacist about any drugs you are taking tha could change your resistance to the UV rays.

Tips for Self Examination for Skin Cancer

Updated Tips for Self Examination for Skin Cancer

There is a way to remember what to look for when you are giving yourself a self examination for malignant melanoma. They are the "ABCD’s" and recently and "E "has been added. The letters stand for

Asymmetry - when one half of the growth has a different shape than the other.

Border irregular - when the growth has uneven edges

Color varied – the growth has more than one color. Melanomas may be black, shades of brown and tan, and even have specks of red, white, blue or/and black.

Diameter - a size, bigger than the diameter of a pencil eraser.

Enlargement -recently doctors haves have recognized the importance of moles that are new on getting larger in predicting high-risk lesions. Thus they have now added E to the criteria.

Remember to keep out of the sun, wear a hat and sunscreen when you go out.