GPs fail to refer a third of malignant melanoma cases for urgent tests

GPs are failing to refer almost one in three patients with malignant melanoma for urgent tests, prompting a health watchdog to say services must improve.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has published a new quality standard, setting out the key areas for improving care for skin cancer patients.

It stresses that GPs should refer people with suspected malignant melanoma for an appointment to see a specialist within two weeks through the urgent referral system for suspected cancer.

The latest data from the National Cancer Intelligence Network shows that 56% of malignant melanomas were diagnosed following a two-week referral for suspected cancer in 2013.

Almost a third of cases, however, 29%, were only diagnosed following a normal GP referral to a specialist, which Nice says can take between four and six weeks in some trusts.

Another 2% of cases were diagnosed in A&E and 5% when the person concerned was already a hospital inpatient.

Figures released in July showed that the “sun, sea and sangria” generation of older people is being diagnosed with deadly skin cancer at an alarming rate.

Some 10,583 people aged 55 and over were told they had malignant melanoma in 2014, the most recent figure available, up from about 3,100 cases 20 years ago.

Cancer Research UK said people living longer is contributing to the rise but also blamed cheap package holidays.

It said people who have taken inexpensive package holidays since the 1960s and wanted a tan at all costs were now being diagnosed due to exposure and sunburn.

Rates of melanoma in people aged 55 and over have increased by 155% in the last 20 years, the data showed.

Rates among younger age groups are also rising, but at a slower rate, with a 63% growth in the last 20 years.

The disease kills around 2,000 people in the UK every year.

Non-melanoma skin cancers are also common, with 72,100 new cases diagnosed in the UK in 2013.

GPs fail to refer a third of malignant melanoma cases for urgent tests

Jimmy Carter, Melanoma, And The Guarantee Of Immunotherapy In The Elderly

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Former president Jimmy Carter is obtaining Merck’s new immunotherapy drug to deal with his melanoma, displaying just how critical these treatment options might be for elderly sufferers with constrained alternatives.

Jimmy Carter, Melanoma, And The Guarantee Of Immunotherapy In The Elderly

Liver cancer and malignant melanoma charges rise sharply in England

Extreme consuming is imagined to be a major result in of liver cancer, with other life-style alternatives, like smoking and weight problems. Photograph: David Vintiner/Corbis

The variety of individuals diagnosed with liver cancer has risen sharply. An Office for National Statistics research demonstrates the incidence of liver cancer in England elevated by 70% for males and 60% for females between 2003 and 2012.

It is now the 18th most typical cancer in England, the ONS explained. The number of females diagnosed with the condition rose from 889 in 2003 to one,418 in 2012, even though the variety of males went up from one,440 to 2,449 in the very same period.

“Considering that 2003, there have been big increases in the variety of registrations of liver, oral, uterine and kidney cancers, and malignant melanoma of the skin,” the study authors wrote. “These cancers are strongly linked to life-style alternatives, this kind of as smoking, alcohol consumption and weight problems.”

The NHS says that whilst the precise lead to of liver cancer is not recognized, it is thought to be related to damage to the liver, such as cirrhosis, which can be caused by excessive drinking, obesity or hepatitis B or C infections.

The ONS research also discovered that malignant melanoma, the most hazardous type of skin cancer, has enhanced by 78% among guys and 48% among women amongst 2003 and 2012.

It is now the fifth most common cancer in England.

Cancer Research United kingdom stated two,000 folks die from malignant melanoma each 12 months. Even though greater detection techniques have contributed to the rise in the variety of circumstances diagnosed, the charity has previously blamed the dilemma on a “dramatic explosion” of package deal holidays and a boom in sunbed use.

The ONS figures also demonstrate that in 2012 the three most typical cancers among guys had been prostate, lung and colorectal cancers. Meanwhile, the 3 most widespread cancers of women have been breast, lung and colorectal cancer.

Matt Wickenden, Cancer Research UK’s manager of statistics, stated: “A lot more than one in 3 men and women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and these figures reflect the large quantity of lives impacted.

“We know that a lot more than four in 10 cancers can be prevented via alterations to our lifestyle, and smoking triggers virtually a fifth of all cancers. So it is vital to lessen smoking costs and so we’re urging the government to introduce plain, standardised tobacco packaging with no delay to cease the subsequent generation taking up the deadly habit that kills half of all extended-term customers.

“The good news is that survival has doubled in the final forty years and half of all cancer patients will now survive the ailment for at least 10 years.”

The British Lung Foundation also reiterated its calls for the introduction of plain, standardised cigarette packs.

Ciaran Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Assistance, explained: “Shockingly, the most common kind of skin cancer, malignant melanoma, has shot up by 78% amid males and 48% amid females in the final 10 years. This can make it now the fifth most typical cancer in England.

“The boost in the quantity of folks acquiring this potentially-fatal condition ought to be a wake-up get in touch with to the government that cancer has not been ‘fixed’ in this country. We have some of the poorest survival costs for cancer in Europe and Macmillan is calling on all the political events to prioritise cancer ahead of the following standard election.”

Liver cancer and malignant melanoma charges rise sharply in England

Examine Suggests Link Between Viagra And Melanoma

In latest many years researchers have uncovered a potentially essential pathway whereby PDE5A inhibitors (which include sildenafil– Viagra– and other medication employed to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary hypertension) could probably enhance the risk of developing melanoma. Now a new research provides early proof exhibiting an association between sildenafil and melanoma, though, like all observational research, it is unable to show a result in-and-result partnership.

The review, published in JAMA Internal Medication, analyzed data from much more than 25,000 men who participated in the Wellness Specialists Adhere to-up Study. Guys who had lately utilised sildenafil had practically twice the danger of creating melanoma right after adjusting for other threat variables (hazard ratio 1.84, CI one.04 – 3.22). Guys who had used sildenafil at any time had a comparable improve in risk. No increase in risk was observed for other skin cancers (basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma) without having acknowledged hyperlinks to PDE5A inhibitors. In addition, there was no important association between erectile perform by itself and melanoma.

(Photo credit score: Wikipedia)

The investigators did not discover whether other PDE5A inhibitors, including tadalafil (Cialis) and vardenafil (Levitra), had been related with melanoma, because these drugs were not offered at the start off of the examine. But in their discussion they point out that because these drugs are longer-acting they may possibly outcome in an even better improve in threat for melanoma.

Simply because the study was a retrospective, observational review, the authors cautioned that their findings “should be interpreted cautiously and are inadequate to alter recent clinical recommendations.”

In an accompanying editorial, June Robinson agrees with the authors that a potential review will be needed prior to clinical recommendations must be altered. But she sees tiny purpose why doctors need to not complete melanoma screening when creating a sildenafil prescription for older men who have a history of sunburns. Early detection, she noted, “may make melanoma a curable ailment.”

Examine Suggests Link Between Viagra And Melanoma