Skin cancer research gets $1 mil.
This article was originally published in The Rose Sheet
Executive Summary
National Cancer Institute grants $1 mil. to a University of Connecticut research team to develop a topical treatment that prevents and repairs sun damage leading to skin cancer, UConn states in Nov. 8 release. Researchers say they will develop the treatment using alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), which increases skin pigmentation to reduce UV penetration and "repair precancerous damage that UV rays do to skin cell DNA." Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, only occurs in 8% of skin cancer cases, but "causes almost all skin cancer deaths, and its incidence is rising at the rate of 4% per year," according to the statement. "The impact of this grant is potentially tremendous," study leader Zalfa Abdel-Malek, PhD, said. The treatment would be especially beneficial to fair-skinned people and others who generally carry a high risk for skin cancer, Abdel-Malek added...