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[IMG]http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/azstarnet.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/0/c5/73f/0c573f80-e89e-5b40-9157-746fb301ba83-revisions/4c8b1cedd9744.preview-300.jpg[/IMG]
[quote] [B]JEFFRY SCOTT/ARIZONA DAILY STAR[/B]
About 3 million new cases of skin cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. last year, and Southeastern Arizona has the second-highest rate of skin cancer in the world. [/quote]Researchers from Arizona and Australia are joining forces to improve prevention and treatment of skin cancer, which appears to be increasing in severity in both places.
Using a $500,000 grant, researchers from the Arizona Cancer Center are forming the new Pan-Pacific Skin Cancer Consortium with the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Australia. The grant is from The Atlantic Philanthropies, a private foundation that supports health and social projects.
Members of the new consortium are planning an October meeting in Tucson. They are hoping the initial half-million-dollar grant will jump-start a long-term relationship.
Despite better awareness of using sunscreen and taking other prevention steps, about 3 million new cases of skin cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. last year, Arizona Cancer Center research shows.
Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation, an international nonprofit organization based in New York City. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
Skin cancer is also one of the most preventable types of cancer.
"Even though we have 3,800 hours of sunlight each year in Tucson, people don't cover up and they don't wear hats. So we're not doing what we need to do to protect ourselves," said Dr. David S. Alberts, director of the Arizona Cancer Center and co-director of its Skin Cancer Institute.
"Queensland in Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. The second-highest rate in the world is in Southeast Arizona. So we have that dubious honor. And we're struggling because we're getting worse and not better."
Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, claims 8,000 lives per year in the U.S. and 2,000 lives annually in Australia, Arizona Cancer Center research shows. The incidence of many common cancers is falling, but the incidence of melanoma continues to rise significantly, at a rate faster than that of any of the seven most common cancers.
Several factors are contributing to increasing skin cancer rates, Alberts said, among them a thinning of the ozone layer and improper use of sunscreen.
"Using sunscreen properly means you put it on every two hours," he said.
The consortium will allow both institutions to expand their resources beyond what they'd be able to do on their own, said Robin Harris, co-director of the Arizona Cancer Center's Skin Cancer Institute.
"This gives us a deeper pool of scientists and experiences," Harris said.
One of the other components of the partnership is developing a better way to count skin cancer cases, including resurrecting a local skin cancer registry, officials say. Harris said current methods for counting skin cancer cases are not as precise as she'd like to see.
Alberts said the consortium is an opportunity to be proactive on an international level when it comes to skin cancer treatment, prevention, screening and behavior change.
There's a research component that includes developing better agents than sunblock to prevent skin cancer, he said.
The Arizona Cancer Center has already developed an agent called Nia 24 that stimulates DNA repair in the skin. The product is available locally for commercial purchase, including in several dermatology offices and at the Arizona Cancer Center.
Another skin cancer prevention drug developed by University of Arizona researchers, known by the commercial name Scenesse, is currently in clinical trials.
The Arizona Cancer Center has had a major focus on skin cancer prevention for three decades, and has received continuous multimillion-dollar research grants from the National Cancer Institute to support research. [/quote][URL="http://azstarnet.com/news/science/health-med-fit/article_72a20dd9-d00e-555a-b018-e1924dcf7419.html"] Source [/URL]
We need an Arizona flag with a crying saguaro right about now.
Oh the ban puns.
I expect Arizona and Australia ban puns in this thread...
Oh god.
:siren:inb4 Australia bans skin cancer:siren:
:siren:in during Australia bans skin cancer:siren:
[QUOTE=Reborn9;24750319]:siren:inb4 Australia bans skin cancer:siren:[/QUOTE]
They would if they could. That shit's deadly.
sunburnt country got skin cancer
They're both banning it?
my state is doing something cool
woo
So many facepunchers from Arizona, what gives.
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