We urgently need the UK government to act on sunbeds

November 13, 2009
The government needs to regulate sunbeds

The UK government should regulate sunbed use

Today we published research in the British Medical Journal that looked at sunbed use amongst teenagers in England. The research has been widely covered in the media – and our spokespeople have had a busy morning being interviewed for local and national television and radio.

Our findings are stark. Young people across England say they’re using sunbeds in large numbers – on average, 6 in every hundred 11-17 year olds use sunbeds more than once a week.

This rate of sunbed use would lead to more than an estimated quarter of a million 11-17 year olds being put at increased risk of developing malignant melanoma

And in some areas of the country this figure’s even higher. In Liverpool, for example, we found that half of girls aged between 15 and 17 say they use sunbeds regularly.

This is deeply worrying. Skin cancer rates have been climbing rapidly for the last few decades, and there’s sound scientific evidence that UV radiation from sunbeds can cause the disease.

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Posted by Henry Scowcroft

The Health Bill becomes law – tobacco is now out of sight!

November 13, 2009
The Health Bill is now the Health Act

The Health Bill has become the Health Act

After almost a year and a half of campaigning, measures to help protect children from tobacco marketing were yesterday enshrined into law.

The Health Bill 2009, which bans the display of tobacco at the point of sale and prohibits tobacco vending machines received Royal Assent yesterday evening and became the Health Act 2009.

Since August last year, Cancer Research UK’s Out of Sight, Out of Mind Campaign has been calling for these measures as part of a comprehensive tobacco control strategy.

When the government announced that it would introduce a ban on tobacco displays and age-restrict vending machines in December last year, Cancer Research UK, with its partners in the Smokefree Action coalition worked hard to persuade Parliamentarians of the need for these measures and to go further and remove tobacco vending machines altogether.

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Posted by Henry Scowcroft

NCRI Cancer Conference 2009: a review

November 11, 2009

Regular readers of this blog will have noticed a flurry of posts over the past month covering the 2009 NCRI Cancer Conference, which took place at the beginning of October. Such events are a fantastic opportunity to hear about the latest research and exciting new strategies to beat cancer.

In this short video, the conference’s scientific chair Professor Ron Laskey sums up his view of the event:

We’ve also put together a review of the key themes, ideas and advances that we found exciting. Doubtless we’ll be hearing a lot more about many of these over the coming years.

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Leave a Comment » | Cancer Research UK-funded research, Cancer Treatment, NCRI conference, Science | Permalink
Posted by Oliver Childs

NCRI Cancer Conference: Infections and cancer

November 10, 2009
Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of stomach cancer

Helicobacter pylori, a major cause of stomach cancer

Over the years, it’s become apparent that certain viruses, bacteria and parasites can cause cancer, as exemplified by the Human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is implicated in cervical cancer and now subject of the new vaccination programme for teenage girls in the UK.

What many people don’t realise is that nearly 20 per cent of all cancers worldwide (and around 8 per cent in the developed world) are thought to be linked to infections (although it’s important to stress that cancer itself cannot be passed on between people except under vanishingly rare circumstances)

But while it’s relatively easy to find out which viruses, bacteria or parasites cause a particular infection, it’s very difficult to pin down an infection as being linked to cancer because the usual rules don’t apply.

For starters, many thousands of people are often infected, but only a few will ever go on to develop cancer. And finding the infectious agent in a sample of the tumour isn’t enough either – how can scientists know whether it’s causing the cancer, or simply along for the ride?

There’s also the issue that it can take many years for cancer to develop – by which time the original infection that caused it may well have cleared up.

So clearly, pinning down exactly which infections are responsible for which cancers, and how they affect a person’s chances of developing that cancer, requires well-planned, thoughtful, long-term research.

In a breakout session on the first full day of the NCRI Cancer Conference, we heard about some great case-studies of cancer-causing infections, and about the scientists’ work to find out exactly how these infections cause cancer, and who’s most at risk.

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Posted by Jess Harris

Home ‘prostate screening’ kits – are they reliable?

November 6, 2009

PSA testing - a complicated issueYou may have seen news this week that a batch of home test kits that allegedly screen for prostate cancer has been recalled, because they weren’t giving accurate results.

These test kits, like the ones that are available through GPs, are designed to measure the level of a protein called PSA in the blood. They’re meant to indicate whether a man needs further tests for prostate cancer or other prostate conditions. The test kits use a pin-prick of blood, can be bought on the internet and from pharmacies, and are designed to be done at home.

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Posted by Jess Harris