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Tag: Skin Cancer
In this month’s skin cancer update video, Professor Giuseppe Argenziano discusses the case of a flat facial lesion on a 60-year-old woman. Continue reading “[3 min watch] Skin Cancer Update with Prof Giuseppe Argenziano [December 2019]”
In this webinar, Paul Elmslie, Founder and CEO of National Skin Cancer Centres and HealthCert, outlined the essential steps for starting out in skin cancer work, including room set-up, equipment, workflow, billing and management. Continue reading “[WEBINAR] Starting out in skin cancer work”
QIMR Berghofer researchers have shown that 22 different genes help to determine how much sun exposure a person needs to receive before developing melanoma. Continue reading “[7 min read] How much sun causes melanoma?”
In this webinar, Dr Tony Dicker discussed performing skin cancer surgery in the difficult area below the knee with practical hints and tips for best results. Continue reading “[WEBINAR] Hints for skin cancer surgery below the knee”
The outer layer of the skin completely replaces itself every two to four weeks, but when this process is blocked, cancer can grow. A new study from researchers at the University of Pennsylvania has now identified a key regulator of that block known as LSD1, as well as a way to genetically influence the skin to grow in a way that prevents this block from happening. Continue reading “[4 min read] Blocking key regulator could treat non-melanoma skin cancers”
In this month’s skin cancer update video, Professor Giuseppe Argenziano discusses the option of removing the crust covering a lesion in-clinic rather than prescribing a topical treatment and asking the patient to come back. Continue reading “[3 min watch] Skin Cancer Update with Prof Giuseppe Argenziano [November 2019]”
Assessment of trends of melanoma incidence and mortality in Australia reveals a recent plateauing and reduction in melanoma age-standardised mortality1, which is unique to Australia (see figure 1). Continue reading “[5 min read] Unique to Australia: Decline in melanoma mortality”
This week we have an interesting case. What do you make of the clinical and dermoscopic images below?
Is there a differential diagnosis? If so, how would you biopsy?
Continue reading “Case discussion: How would you treat this patient? [28 October]”
A study has found that personalised nanovaccines are safe, well tolerated, and have an effect in melanoma.
Porous silicon and adenovirus-based bio-hybrid nanovaccines were developed in a study carried out at the University of Helsinki, providing new insights on the structure and efficacy of these systems as therapeutic cancer nanovaccines.
Immunotherapy is revolutionising cancer treatment, achieving durable and long-term responses in patients. However, due to immunotherapeutic resistance, only some patients experience a positive outcome. Combinations of immunotherapeutics can overcome the drug resistance, so the administration of a cancer vaccine or an oncolytic virus followed by immune antibodies is under investigation.
Nevertheless, there is an unmet need for powerful, safe vaccines. Nanoparticles, in particular porous silicon nanoparticles, present ideal characteristics to formulate nanovaccines, as a result of their size-specific targeting to the lymphoid organs, to their intrinsic adjuvant effect, and to the possibility to simultaneously load adjuvants and antigens.
M.Sc. Pharma Flavia Fontana describes in her doctoral thesis the development of nanovaccines from the materials to the pre-clinical proof of concept trials.
Fontana developed a bio-hybrid multistage nanovaccine formulation and evaluated its anti-cancer efficacy in murine tumour models. Fontana’s study shows that the treatment could stimulate the immune system of the mice and control melanoma tumours alone or when combined with antibodies, which are the present standard treatment. Fontana proposed bio-hybrid cell membrane technology as an innovative antigenic source.
The personalised nanovaccines described in Fontana’s thesis are safe and well tolerated. The core particle will be the same for all patients, while the cell membrane wrapping will change for each patient because it will derive from parts of their tumour biopsy.
The future developments of the nanovaccines will take them closer to the clinics by evaluating the feasibility of the approach with real patient tumours.
Interested in skin cancer medicine?
The HealthCert Professional Diploma programs offer foundation to advanced training in skin cancer medicine, skin cancer surgery or dermoscopy and provide an essential step towards subspecialisation. All programs are university quality-assured, CPD-accredited and count towards multiple Master degree pathways and clinical attachment programs in Australia and overseas. The programs are delivered online and/or face-to-face across most major cities of Australia.
Courses in Skin Cancer Medicine:
Melbourne | Gold Coast | Brisbane | Sydney | OnlineCourses in Skin Cancer Surgery:
Melbourne | Gold Coast | Brisbane | SydneyOnline courses in Dermoscopy:
Trimester 1: Jan | Trimester 2: May | Trimester 3: Sep
Source: Fontana F., 2019. Biohybrid Cloaked Nanovaccines for Immunotherapy. Dissertationes Scholae Doctoralis Ad Sanitatem Investigandam Universitatis Helsinkiensis, 47/2019, pp.78. ISBN 987-951-51-5286-2 (Paperback), ISBN 978-951-51-5287-9 (PDF, http://ethesis.helsinki.fi), ISSN 2342-316
Australian scientists have identified a way to help primary care physicians determine a patient’s risk of developing melanoma.
A team at The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute uncovered the specific gene variations affecting the number and types of moles that appear on the body, and their role in causing skin cancer. Continue reading “[5 min read] How gene variations affect melanoma risk”
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