2023-06-26 07:36:00
We are used to seeing Gia Beer Gurevich on the screen as a comical and entertaining character. In one of the last programs of “Dancing with the Stars”, where she competes as a dancer, she shared before going on stage: “When I was ten years old, my father was diagnosed with melanoma cancer. After a year of treatment, he passed away. Even though I was ten years old, I remember our relationship. There were many hugs , he always played music at home and I would dance in the living room.”
Following the moving confession, here are some things that are important to know about the disease from which approximately 130 thousand people are diagnosed worldwide every year, 1,900 of them in Israel.
What is melanoma?
Melanoma is a cancerous skin tumor, which originates from the cells that are responsible for the production of melanin, the same pigment that is created as a result of tanning. Exposure to the sun is a major risk factor, and exposure at young ages is a significant factor, especially when it comes to short exposures that result in tanning or burns and sun blisters. Of the 1,900 new cases, there are also rare types that are not skin cancer, such as melanoma of the eye and a rarer melanoma, which is melanoma of the mucous membranes.
Israel is one of the most advanced places in the world in the treatment and research of the disease, although its main incidence is in Australia, where most people have fair skin, and they tend to be exposed to the sun a lot. Awareness in Australia of the dangers resulting from exposure to the sun is huge, especially in preschool and school age. A hat, for example, is part of the uniform outfit in the region. Also, the children in Australia wear shirts with long sleeves, and make sure to apply sunscreen.
The importance of early detection and the breakthrough that has occurred in recent years in metastatic skin cancer
Thanks to the high awareness of the issue in recent years, in Israel and around the world, most cases are detected at an early stage and treated surgically, which leads to cure with high success rates. In addition, the treatment of melanoma has also undergone a revolution in the last decade. If in the past patients underwent chemical treatments and barely survived for about six months, today, the median survival is about six years and many patients live without active disease. The goal of melanoma treatment is cure and not prolongation of life or relief of suffering. It is estimated that the chance of being cured of a metastatic disease currently stands at about 40 percent.
What contributed to this breakthrough?
The main revolution in the treatment of melanoma comes from the development of immunotherapy treatments, which focus on mobilizing the immune system to fight the tumor – this is different from the chemotherapeutic poison that damages vital organs. In immunotherapy, barriers are removed from the cells in the immune system, which as a result are overactive, essentially destroying the tumor. Similar to the reboot of the immune system, the body learns to recognize the disease, and the immune system keeps it under control for years, or even for a lifetime.
Another group of breakthrough treatments are the biological treatments, which act against a mutation and result in a specific genetic change. They are known to have a faster and more effective effect on about half of skin cancer patients, but are less effective in the long term than immunotherapy treatments.
At the ‘Ella Lemelbaum’ Institute at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, we were the first in the world to perform fecal cell transplant treatment among patients with metastatic melanoma, a study published in the world’s leading medical journals. This is a real breakthrough, in which about 30 percent of the subjects responded well to the treatment and some of them are already ‘free’ of the disease even after 3-4 years from the end of the study.
Melanoma Photo: ShutterStock
The warning signs that are important to know
Melanoma develops mainly in light-skinned people with light-colored eyes. In people with brown skin and in Arab and North African countries, there is almost no melanoma. In the ancient debate about the benefits of ‘sunbaths’, it is claimed that sunlight is known as an anti-depressant and encourages the body to produce vitamin D, which is essential for bones and teeth, but when students sit for an hour under the scorching sun at the graduation ceremonies in July or play soccer during recess on the field without shade, there is definitely A problematic matter.
It goes without saying that one should avoid applying carrot oil or nut oil to deepen the tan, as was customary in the past. You can also keep up to date with the radiation index, which is published daily on the meteorological service website, in order to reduce exposure to the sun during the dangerous hours.
The author is Dr. Guy Ben Bezalel, oncologist at Ella Institute, Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer
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