Fight to stop skin cancer

MELANOMA rates have doubled in the past 30 years despite widespread use of sunscreen prompted by the "Slip Slop Slap" campaign.

Summer

MELANOMA rates have doubled in the past 30 years despite widespread use of sunscreen prompted by the "Slip Slop Slap" sun-safe campaign in 1980.

Researchers have now embarked on unlocking the genetic codes that cause melanoma cells, to reveal why 10,000 people a year are diagnosed with the cancer - and 1200 people die from it.

It is hoped the two-year Melanoma Genome Project will provide much-needed answers and lead the way for targeted drug treatment.

Researcher Professor Graham Mann from the Melanoma Institute said that even though sun exposure drives melanoma, it is not the only reason for the cancer.

"The genome project will try to explain what makes a melanoma cell and how to treat it by attacking its genetic fault," Professor Mann said.

Melanoma is still the most common cancer affecting people aged 15 to 44 and despite more sun protection awareness, more than 1700 young people were diagnosed with it in 2007.

It is the leading cause of cancer death in young men and second most common cause of death in young women after breast cancer.

Theories that the chemicals in sunscreen could cause melanomas were dented last year in a 10-year study that found those who used sunscreen daily had half as many melanomas as those who used it only when they planned on being in the sun.

But the role of vitamin D in skin protection, and whether sunscreen interferes, remains a mystery.

"It's not fully worked out, but we need a certain amount of Vitamin D converted in the skin for bone health and probably for skin health," Professor Mann said.

Those who covered up risked Vitamin D deficiency which put them at higher risk of melanoma.

"We also know those people with a lot of moles are susceptible independent of sun exposure, so genetic make-up is important," Professor Mann said.

"We've also estimated 10 deaths a year in young people can be attributed to sunbed use. If sunbeds were banned, we would prevent 80 to 90 melanomas a year in people under 40.

"If you use a sunbed under the age of 30 you're at six times the risk."

There is no cure for melanoma, but an Australian-developed drug has been shown to prolong life in 50 per cent of cases.

The genome project hopes to provide a cure within the next decade.