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Each year throughout the world, between 2 and 3 million nonmelanoma skin cancers develop, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States alone, it is estimated that 1 in 5 will develop the disease at some point in their lives.

Recently, researchers at the Society of Nuclear Medicine 2012 Annual Meeting announced that a customized patch treatment for basal cell carcinoma has been developed that entirely destroyed facial tumors without surgery or major radiation therapy in 80% of patients studied.

Previous studies suggest that taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which include aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen, as well as a variety of other nonprescription and prescription drugs, can decrease an individual’s risk of developing some types of cancer. New study findings, published early online in Cancer, indicate that these drugs may specifically protect patients from skin cancer.

With low participation rates in clinical trials, researchers are constantly seeking new methods to alter cancer patients’ perceptions and negative attitudes toward clinical trial involvement. In a recent study, researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center offered 2 different kinds of intervention to 2 groups of adults with cancer who had not yet been offered participation in clinical trials.

The FDA recently approved Perjeta (pertuzumab) in combination with trastuzumab and docetaxel chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer (mBC) who have not received prior anti-HER2 therapy or chemotherapy for metastatic disease.

Selumetinib, the first targeted therapy to benefit patients with the most common genetic subtype of lung cancer, performed well across many measures in an international study led by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The clinical trial included 87 non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with tumors harboring a mutation in the KRAS gene. These tumors account for approximately 20% of all NSCLC cases. Selumetinib, the drug under investigation, interferes with a protein called MEK.

The antioxidant supplement beta-carotene is safe for use during radiation therapy treatments for prostate cancer. It does not escalate the risk of prostate cancer death or metastases, despite previous safety concerns, according to a study published in the May issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics.

Cancer-related fatigue was reduced for patients taking high doses of pure American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) over the course of 2 months, a Mayo Clinic–led study found.

Researchers studied 340 patients who had completed cancer treatment or were being treated for cancer at 1 of 40 community medical centers. Of the patients studied, 60% had breast cancer. Participants received either a placebo or capsules containing 2000 mg of pure, ground American ginseng root daily.

In the fight against cancer, America’s biopharmaceutical research companies are testing 981 oncology medicines and vaccines, according to a report released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA). These prospective medicines, which are either in clinical trials or under review by the FDA, include 111 for breast cancer, 121 for lung cancer, and 117 for lymphoma.

In a recent study, the antidepressant drug duloxetine (Cymbalta) helped ease pain from chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy in 59% of patients. For about 30% of patients, this tingling feeling is more than uncomfortable; it’s a painful sensation. This is the first clinical trial to find an effective therapy for this pain.

Early-stage prostate cancer treatment can also produce quality-of-life improvements for a subgroup of men who suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), according to a Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center–led study. LUTS, which includes problems of recurrent or urgent urination, is a common problem that affects approximately 40% of men.