Lighthouse News Daily

Breaking Daily News

Monday, January 25, 2021
Log in
  • Headlines
  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • U.S.
  • World
  • Latest News
    • Inflatable Greenhouse Could Be A Food Source In The Outer Space
    • YouTube for Children Being Launched by Google
    • Some Animals Produce Natural Sunscreen to Protect Themselves from Radiation, New Study Shows
    • A New Genetic Map Tracks Down Dog Breeds And Their Evolution
    • Lack Of Sleep Causes Brain Cells To Slow Down
    • Meet Lyuba, the Best-Preserved Baby Mammoth in the World
    • Reports of Great White Shark Spottings Around Wells, Maine
    • Minecraft Adds Hour of Code Designer Tutorial
    • The de Broglie-Bohm Theory Is Back and It’s Surreal
    • Could High Carbon Dioxide Concentration Make Earth Greener?
You are here: Home / Health / Skin Cancer Screenings Might Not Be Effective For Melanoma

Skin Cancer Screenings Might Not Be Effective For Melanoma

December 14, 2015 By Janice Bower Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow
"freckles"

People should still get skin cancer screenings

USPSTF (U.S. Preventive Service Task Force) claims that skin cancer screenings might not be effective for melanoma. This is a conclusion of their recommendations draft on skin cancer screening.

The medical community has been debating for years trying to find a balance between detecting cancer tumors in early stages and avoiding the harm that might be resulted from unnecessary procedures, such as the removal of healthy tissue.

Analyzing the pros and cons of the preventive full-body screenings, USPSTF hasn’t been able to establish whether they should recommend it or not. Dr. Mark Ebell, one of the researchers in the team which has issued the recommendations and a Professor at the University of Georgia claims that there isn’t enough evidence to say for sure that a full-body visual screening by a clinician prevents melanoma deaths.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with more than 74,000 people affected this year, of which for about 10,000 it will probably be fatal. Even if the majority of skin cancers are not fatal, melanoma, which accounts for about 2 percent of the cases, kills most of the people it affects.

The guidelines issued by USPSTF are used by insurance companies to determine which treatments and screenings are they paying for. Their last recommendations, from 2009, had also found too little evidence regarding the benefits of skin cancer screenings.

One of the trials which influenced their decision is coming from Germany. In one region there has been a powerful public awareness campaign lasting for about two years. Researchers have found a reduction of 48 percent in the deaths caused by skin cancer. In the case of melanoma, the campaign has saved one life from every 100,000 screened people.

From the screened patients, about 4.4 percent had a skin excision following doctor’s suspicion but the majority of the biopsies have shown that the removed tissue wasn’t cancer. For every 28 biopsies performed, doctors found one case of melanoma.

However, USPSTF’s recommendations are focusing on melanoma, excluding the vast majority of other skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma or basal cell carcinoma which might cause severe damage to the tissue and even death.

In conclusion, people should not be discouraged from taking full body screenings since besides melanoma, other types of more frequent skin cancers can also affect them. More than that, nobody ever knows if they are that case out of 100,000 with a melanoma.

Image source: pixabay

Email, RSS Follow

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: biopsies, carcinoma, melanoma, screenings, skin cancer, Skin Cancer Screenings Might Not Be Effective For Melanoma

Pages

  • About/Contact
  • AccomplishNow Sandra Rechsteiner | A Journey to Self-Acceptance
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Staff
  • Terms and Conditions

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 17 other subscribers

Charles Haley Says Brady Will be Haunted by Deflategate

February 5, 2015 By Grant Hamersma Leave a Comment

Justice Minister Says Plot for Massacre Foiled

February 14, 2015 By Joseph Decker Leave a Comment

Conrad Hilton, Younger Brother of Paris Charged

February 4, 2015 By Barbara Mast Leave a Comment

Pew: Immigrants to Make Up 88% of U.S. Population Growth by 2065

September 28, 2015 By Adam Lynch Leave a Comment

There is this crazy theory going on about how Robin is going to become the new Joker in Warner Bros.’ new DC World.

Is Robin the New Joker?

August 29, 2015 By Adam Lynch Leave a Comment

Strong Gains in Jobs and Wages Open Door for Rate Hike in U.S.

February 6, 2015 By Barbara Mast Leave a Comment

Kurt Busch Says Ex-Girlfriend Was an Assassin

January 14, 2015 By David Kellen Leave a Comment

Profit Plummets at AIG by 67%

February 13, 2015 By Joseph Decker Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • patient and doctor shaking hands

    Always Seeing the Same Doctor Lowers Early Death Risk (Study)

    Jun 29, 2018
  • people who work out

    What Happens When You Work Out

    Jun 28, 2018
  • female flight attendant

    Flight Attendants, More Likely to Develop Some Types of Cancer (Study)

    Jun 26, 2018
  • overweight person

    Body-Positive Movement Likely Contributes to Obesity Crisis (Study)

    Jun 25, 2018
  • Alzheimer's symptoms

    Herpes Virus Might Be Linked to Alzheimer’s (Study)

    Jun 22, 2018
  • cup of coffee

    Coffee Might Be Good for Your Heart, But with a Limit (Study)

    Jun 22, 2018
  • Parkinson's in the brain

    Parkinson’s Drugs Can Make People Gamblers or Sex Addicts

    Jun 21, 2018
  • freshly-made pizza

    Why Your Brain Loves Fatty, High-Carb Foods (Study)

    Jun 19, 2018
  • group of teens

    Teens Having Less Sex, Doing Less Drugs, More Are Depressed

    Jun 15, 2018
  • woman sleeping

    Too Much or Too Little Sleep are Both Bad for Your Health (Study)

    Jun 14, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Education
  • Entertainment
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • Nature
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • U.S.
  • Uncategorized
  • World

Copyright © 2021 lighthousenewsdaily.com

About | Contact · Staff · Terms and Conditions · Privacy Policy

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.