(American Health Newswire--) There could soon new treatment for one of the most deadly forms of cancer, thanks to a study from the University of East Anglia and Children's Hospital Boston.

Melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, affects the pigment cells in skin. More than 10,000 patients every year are diagnosed with melanoma in the United Kingdom, and unlike other cancers, the number of people diagnosed every year is on the rise. Melanoma is treatable when caught early, but if it is caught too late and tumors have spread, chances of survival are extremely low.

However, University of East Anglia scientists may have found an existing drug that has inhibiting effects on melanoma. Scientists tested thousands of compounds and their effect on the pigment development cells in tadpoles. Along with the Children's Hospital in Boston, they proved that leflunomide, a drug typically used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, restricts tumor growth in mice. Even more promising was the fact that when used in tandem with a new melanoma therapy that is currently in clinical trials, PLX4720, leflunomide blocked nearly all tumor growth.

Dr. Grant Wheeler, of University of East Anglia's School of Biological Science, was quoted as saying, "This is a really exciting discovery... making use of an existing drug specifically to target melanoma... Deaths from melanoma skin cancer are increasing and there is a desperate need for new, more effective treatments. We are very optimistic that this research will lead to novel treatments for melanoma tumors which, working alongside other therapies, will help to stop them progressing."

The next step for leflunomide is clinical trials for its use as a melanoma treatment, a process that should be faster than usual since leflunomide is already an approved drug for arthritis. There could be a new treatment for melanoma within five years.

SOURCE: Nature, published March 24, 2011

(American Health Newswire) -- A new study reveals an increased consumption of added sugars coincided with weight gain in adults.

Researchers assessed added sugars intake and body weight patterns over 27 years by using data collected in the Minnesota Heart Survey. They found in a 2007-09 survey, men consumed about 15.3 percent of their daily calories from added sugars. This was a 37.8-percent increase from 1980-82. Added sugars intake in women changed from 9.9 percent of total calories in 1980-82 to 13.4 percent of total calories in 2007-09.

Results showed added sugars intake increased along with BMI levels in both men and women. Added sugars consumption leveled off between 2000-02 and 2007-09. Average BMI readings also leveled off in women, which paralleled their added sugars intake. However, BMI readings continued to rise in men while calories consumed from added sugars declined.

"Added sugars consumption increased over 20 years," Huifen Wang, M.S., lead author of the study, was quoted as saying. "Although it declined slightly after 2000-02, the consumption of added sugars remained high among the Minnesota residents studied. Although other lifestyle factors should be considered as an explanation for the upward trend of BMI, public health efforts should advise limiting added sugar intake."

The American Heart Association recommends no more than half of a person's daily discretionary calories should come from added sugars. Discretionary calories are "left over" after you have consumed the recommended types and amounts of foods that you need to meet nutrient requirements. Women should consume no more than 100 calories of added sugars per day, and most men should consume no more than 150 calories of added sugars per day.

SOURCE: The American Heart Association's Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism/Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention 2011 Scientific Sessions, March 23, 2011

NEW YORK, NY (American Health Newswire) -- The number two and prostate cancer are a deadly combo. It's the second most common cancer in the U.S men and the second leading cause of cancer death in men, too. So here, we offer two new ways to fight the disease and get back to life quicker.

Live ballet is art at its finest. Alastair Macaulay knows, he's the chief dance critic for the New York Times. It was his life until a prostate cancer diagnosis.

"Immediate reaction is your heart drops a mile," Alastair Macaulay told American Health. "Somehow, you're not ready for that, despite all the warning signs along the way."

But instead of removing Alastair's prostate by robotic surgery, now doctors combine it with a CO 2 laser. The accurate, low-heat laser frees and preserves nerves around the prostate. The result is reduced risk for incontinence and sexual side effects. So far, results show 75 percent of men recovered sexual function in six months as opposed to one year with the old method.

"If you can have less traction on the nerves, less traction damage, then you would think that patients would recover the potency side of things much quicker," Ketan Badani, M.D., director of robotic surgery at New York Presbyterian hospital/Columbia University Medical Center said.

Doctor Mitchell Anscher's new clinical trial uses image-guided radiation therapy to hit the prostate with higher-than-normal doses of radiation. By just targeting cancer tissue and protecting other organs, you may kill more cancer cells in less time.

"Get a higher dose into the prostate, get a lower dose into the sensitive tissues around the prostate, like the bladder and the rectum," Mitchell Anscher, M.D., chair and professor of

radiation oncology at VCU Massey Cancer Center in Richmond, Va., explained.

Alastair's surgery has allowed this critic to dish opinions on cancer matters, too

"Talk to as many different people who have been through this as possible." Alastair said. "It just helped. You just thought that you were not alone."

High-intensity radiation and high-tech surgical lasers, both are certainly headline news. Doctors at VCU Massey Cancer Center are performing another clinical trial using statins to combat post-radiation inflammation. Both studies are in-need of patient volunteers.