The annual incidence of invasive cutaneous melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, increased among Caucasian women in the United States aged 15 to 39 by 50 percent between 1980 and 2004, investigators from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics reported online July 10 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The incidence among Caucasian men in the United States did not increase significantly over the same time period.

"We have known for some time that melanoma incidence has been consistently increasing among older adults in the United States," says Dr. Mark Purdue, lead author of the study. "What has not been clear is whether the melanoma trends among younger adults have been changing. Some studies published in the 1990s had suggested that melanoma rates were leveling off in this age group. However, a study conducted by our group in 2001 saw evidence that melanoma incidence was still increasing among young women. Our present study, which includes an additional 7 years of data, was conducted to clarify what trends are taking place among young adults."

The investigators used nine NCI Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registries that had collected incidence and mortality data since 1973. They found that the rate of increase in incidence for young women declined from 1978 to 1987 and then stabilized until 1992, but began rising again afterward. In absolute numbers, the annual incidence increased from 5.5 cases per 100,000 persons in 1973 to 13.9 per 100,000 in 2004.   Read more  

By using targeted nanoparticles carrying significantly reduced doses of chemotherapy, researchers have demonstrated the ability to preferentially block the spread of cancer, while largely sparing the surrounding tissues. A series of experiments in animals with forms of pancreatic and kidney cancer showed that the nanotechnology therapy consistently reduced the incidence of metastasis by 90 percent as compared with untreated mice.

The results, reported online July 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest possible new approaches for inhibiting tumor angiogenesis, the formation of blood vessels that supply tumors with the nutrients needed to grow and spread. Dr. David Cheresh, a participant in the NCI Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (CCNE) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), led the study. Dr. Cheresh leads efforts to develop "smart" nanoparticle platforms at the Center.   Read more  

The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov. NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.