~20 years ago a young father on my block had a mole on his neck that ended up being a fatal melanoma. He otherwise looked so healthy.
He said it might have been from sunburns when he was in the Boy Scouts.
I will never forget the look on his face when I spoke with him, a look of bewilderment wrestling with anger.
His wife teetered with grief and confusion, trying her best to be strong while trying to bear the sickening reality that nobody could have prepared their family for.
I always get an annual dermatology checkup now because of him.
The combination treatment has won U.S. breakthrough therapy and European Medicines Agency PRIME scheme designations, regulatory programs that aim to speed development of innovative treatments. Still, Hoge said that even with the new data it would be some time before the companies can file for approval of the treatment.
These delays help fill graveyards in the meantime: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2021/01/th.... The tragedy goes mostly unremarked on, because the dead don't agitate or vote.
This is great news. We can always use better treatments. I had a case of metastatic melanoma (III-A) in my early 20's and the drug of choice at that time was interferon, which was not a particularly pleasant experience. There were experimental vaccines at the time as well, so these new vaccines have been multiple decades in the making.
As some unsolicited practical advice, yes, it's always good to protect one's self from the sun using long sleeves or sunscreen. However, melanoma can and often does occur in areas that does not receive sun exposure. This could be between your toes or inside your butt cheeks. As a result, it's worthwhile to have a dermatologist conduct a skin exam once a year. Normally, this is covered under a specialist visit for insurance and for many insurance plans this is a flat fee.
Outside of a regular exam, any growth that has unusual size, shape, or color should be checked by a dermatologist, especially if it changes. My lesion was raised off the skin and red in color. It also changed and grew over time. If one can not immediately see a dermatologist, lacks insurance, or money for a visit, regular pictures of the skin blemish or growth can help track changes. If it changes, though, it really does require a dermatologist to look at it.
Lastly, dermatologists can and do make mistakes. In my case, my lesion was dismissed as a benign nevus at first visit. When I revisted the physician six months later, it was larger and was finally biopsied to discover it was melanoma. It is possible that the cancer metastasized in the interim period, but we'll never know. That said, if one is concerned about a growth and the physician defers, it is very simple to tell the dermatologist that you'd feel more comfortable if we biopsied the growth just to be sure. You don't have to be mean and I've never been refused. At that point, they take a small sample of the growth and send it to the lab. Then, you know for sure. Normally, the sample is taken by using a razor blade and skimming off some of the surface. It's fast, easy, and while not painless, it is not particularly painful. Generally, this is rolled into my specialist visit fee for insurance, but they may send an additional billing code to insurance.
Finally, dermatolgists can be difficult to schedule with. Honestly, their schedule is often filled with cosmetic procedures like skin peels and botox because it's so profitable. That said, any dermatologist can do a biopsy, so just call around to find one with an opening that takes your particular insurance.
I apologist for the side talk. I often find the whole talk to your doc discussion regarding skin lacks details, so hopefully this helps. Great to hear that the treatments are progressing.
A friend's kid had a specific rare childhood melanoma that, when Googling, showed a 90% mortality rate. Thankfully that number is apparently before recent immunotherapy advancements, but it was pretty terrifying. This article is a happy click for me.
I'm guessing that this vaccine is only used post-diagnosis.
Anyone know if there's talk of using this profilactically, like the HPV vaccine? (I realize that viruses != cancers, but IIUC hpv can sometimes lead to cancer, which is why I thought to ask.)
This, coupled with mass sequencing of individual cancers and pathogens, feels like the generalized way forward in medicine.
I wonder how they identify the targets in each genome. Is there an optimizing expert system? Generative AI?
Two out of three Australians will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer at some point their lives [1] due to the higher atmospheric UV. This is going to prevent a lot of unnecessary death. Modern medicine is fantastic.
[1] https://www.phrp.com.au/media/media-releases/two-in-three-au...
Weirdly, while this is not the first time i read about this vaccine, this is the first time i read an explanation about how it work.
Seems to be a tad expensive, but also generalizable. Hopefully it can replace hormone therapy for breast cancers, and be extended to all common cancers.
Moderna and its mRNA vaccines is truly magic. Like someone born 500 years ago - if they saw what Moderna was making, they would think this is God like power.
Because it is. DNA/RNA is the language of all life. Moderna is literally working at the language of life layer to produce their vaccines.
That's amazing news. Even cooler when you realize that Keytruda was already a relatively effective treatment!
Great news, and with the 92% effective covid vaccine, Moderna are really killing it.
What's the point of mentioning company stocks in a vaccine article?
Sounds like an important breakthrough!
Side note: in the article, I find it a bit inappropriate that the first paragraphs only talk about the effects on the stock prices of both involved companies, before going into details of the research and how the vaccine works…
Moderna BioNTech merger when?
This is very neat! The effect has only been observed up to three years out, but this seems like it could become a pretty cost-effective option?
Also, misc side note: I keep reading the words "Madonna" and "Cults" in the title even though they're not there. Was very confused when I first clicked the link.
Wear sunscreen.
Get your moles checked.
My dad died in July 1996 from a nasty mole on his back. He would ask me to scratch his back and I remember being 8 or 9 years old and having to scratch around it as it was near the seam of his tank top (which likely aggravated it daily). And would make comments about it being "gross". We just didn't know what we know today.
He was drying off after showering one morning and got blood all over the towel from the mole. He went to the dermatologist and was told he had malignant melanoma. This was in September 1995 and he was in the ground before the middle of July 1996. Nine months to get his affairs in order. I remember driving around and seeing his old college pals (one of which I still see once a year or so for lunch to this day). I remember him buying a bag phone, a "car phone" so we could keep in touch as he drove from Eastern KY to Duke University for experimental treatments (I believe it was the one that led to the immunotherapy treatments used today). He told my mom even if it didn't help him he hoped it would help someone.
I avoid the sun with the exception of the back of my neck and the top of my hands. He has no clue (nor do the dermatologists) what caused it but, like other posts mention, likely sunburns in childhood.
I am so hopeful for this treatment and thankful for the progress made on the immunotherapy fronts.