Many people these days are interested in natural or holistic medicine. It seems as though a company, ChromaDex, is attempting to find a natural answer to non- melanoma skin cancer. In an article by Peter Cleveland of SmallCap Network, ChromaDex is described as, “an innovative natural products company providing proprietary, science-based solutions and ingredients to the dietary supplement, food and beverage, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries”.

The company is studying its pTeroPure as the potential skin cancer treatment. ChromaDex is joined by The University of California, Irvine in this endeavor. “ pTeroPure is CDXC’s ultra-pure formumation of pterostilbene, a compound found in blueberries and shown to have a number of health benefits”, says the article. The pTeroPure would target NMSC.

NMSC refers to a group of skin cancers that affect the upper layers of skin. In the U.S., NMSC is the most common form of cancer, outnumbering all other cancers combined. A number of factors are responsible for the rising incidence of NMSC, including modern addiction to sun-bathing, rising elderly population and decreasing stratospheric ozone. It is estimated that, globally, a 10% drop in the stratospheric ozone will cause 300,000 additional NMSCs.

Common treatment for NMSCs is surgery. The surgery cuts out the cancer. Another option is freezing, through which the cancer cells are frozen and destroyed. Chemotherapy and radiation treatment can also be used, but usually only when the tumors are quite large. ChromaDex is hoping that they can eliminate these treatments and their side-effects.

The idea that a compound in blueberries could cure skin cancer is quite thrilling! MoleSafe certainly hopes they’re onto something.

A study which came out this week claims that women who use sunless tanning products are less likely to use tanning beds, USA Today reports.

Sunless tanning products are a safe alternative for people who are looking for a summer glow. They do not put people at risk for UV exposure, as does traditional sunbathing and tanning beds. The researchers found that by using the sunless products, women lowered their overall UV exposure time.

Dr. Suephy Chen pointed out that sunless tanning products offer no risk for DNA damage as well.”The product adheres to the top layer of the skin that sheds anyway”, she said. Chen believes that you can’t fight with people who want to be tan, but you can promote healthy ways to achieve that look.

For the study, Chen’s team surveyed more than 400 women, age 18 and older, about their use of sunless tanning products and their tanning habits. Almost 50 percent said they had used sunless tanning products at least once in the last year. Most had used self-applied products, with 9 percent saying they got a professionally applied spray tan. The products were used by women of all ages, the researchers noted.

Of the women used in the study, 70% said that they had tanned in the sun during the past year, 26% used tanning beds, and a quarter of the women tanned both ways. The 37% of the women who used sunless tanning products had a decrease in their amount of sun tanning.

Women who used sunless tanning products at least five times in the previous year spent 52 percent less time sunbathing, while women who used these products less often reduced sun exposure by 18 percent, the study found. Tanning bed use was reduced more than 50 percent among women who used tanning products frequently, compared with about 24 percent among women who used the tanning products less often, the researchers said.

Dr. Jonette Keri pointed out that the public  needs to get rid of the idea that a tan is healthy. Skin cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the U.S., and people need to realize this. We here at MoleSafe hope that together, with other members of the anti-melanoma community,  we can promote sun safety!