Elsewhere on the web – May 2009

It’s time to trawl the web for the latest cancer-related stories.

Hello sunshine
This week the UK is sizzling (or perhaps just sweating) in the sun as summer finally arrives. Our SunSmart team have put together a neat animation about the dangers of sunburn – featuring a voiceover by your own correspondent, Dr Kat.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmqhzG8QamU]

There’s been a lot in the news recently about sunshine, vitamin D and cancer, such as this post on the NHS Choices blog exploring whether sunshine really is the ‘key to long life’.  So it’s a timely moment to bump a couple of Ed’s great posts about sun exposure and vitamin D – ‘Does vitamin D protect against cancer?’ and ‘Do we need more sunlight to make enough vitamin D?’

ASCO a go-go
The observant reader may have noticed a flurry of cancer-related stories in the news over the past week or so. This is due to the ASCO Conference, the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology over in the States.  Researchers from around the world present the latest results, and the stories are always guaranteed to grab more than a few column inches.

The American Cancer Society’s Dr Len Lichtenfield was at the meeting, and you can read his musings about the conference on his ever-excellent blog.   And you can catch up with the latest press releases from ASCO from their website.

Also on Len’s blog this month is a post about the latest cancer statistics, showing that around 650,000 cancer deaths have been avoided in the US since the early 1990s.   Here in the UK, our statistics are also showing a similar upwards trend, proving that we are making progress in beating cancer.

Prostate tests on the horizon?
This month the NHS Choices blog covered two stories about tests for prostate cancer.   The first is about a paper published in the British Journal of Cancer, featuring a pilot study of a new urine test for prostate cancer that could be more accurate than the current PSA test.

The second describes early research into a potential test for prostate cancer that would measure the levels of certain chemicals in prostate fluid (or even blood, semen or urine).    Billed as the “three minute prostate test”, it’s still a long way from being available for use by doctors, but it’s certainly an interesting development.

And finally…
The cancer research blog carnival for May is up on Highlight Health, covering a range of stories including cancer risk and ethnicity, a potential treatment vaccine for prostate cancer, and a glimpse into the future of scientific research.

That’s all for now. If you’ve noticed any interesting cancer-related links, feel free to share them in the comments below.

Kat

Cancer Research UK is not responsible for the content of external websites. Our CancerHelp UK website has a useful guide to finding reliable information on the internet.