New advancements for skin cancer treatment

Arizona has significantly higher skin cancer rates than the national average. While melanoma accounts for only about 1% of skin cancers, it also causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths. The latest data from the American Cancer Society found Melanoma death rates significantly declined from 2013 to 2022.

Dr. Mark Gimbel, Surgical Oncologist at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center and Medical Director, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss how new treatments are able to attack melanoma differently than previous treatments. Dr. Gimbel also discussed why late-stage melanoma is no longer considered a death sentence, and how we’ve seen these new treatments impact our patients at Banner MD Anderson.

“With melanoma, obviously the goal is to identify it early, because if you can identify it early, it’s 100% curable. The problem is when melanoma progresses beyond that early stage is when an incision or surgical reception is not enough,” Dr. Gimbel said. He added, “Only recently, within the past 10 years, the treatments have progressed so much that we’re now seeing people with widespread cancer who are being cured.”

Not only is getting checked early essential to helping to cure melanoma but also protecting your skin from the hot Arizona sun will also help prevent the risk of developing skin cancer.

“We recommend a use of sunscreen of SPF 30. Beyond that, you can get incremental benefits, but the benefit is small. You want to be applying it every two hours, and not just spraying and going away. You have to get a good base amount into the skin so it gets absorbed, and that protects you,” said Dr. Gimbel.