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Chemo Drug May Help Sun-Damaged Skin
Posted 15 Jun 2009 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, June 15 – Applying the chemotherapy drug fluorouracil to skin might help improve the appearance of sun-damaged areas and reduce potentially precancerous patches, according to a small, new study. Fluorouracil is used to treat cancers of the colon, head and neck, pancreas and other organs. Changes in skin appearance have been noted in people undergoing treatment with systemic fluorouracil, and this led to the development of a skin cream that contains the cancer drug. The new study included 21 healthy volunteers with sun-damaged skin and actinic keratoses – skin lesions that could develop into skin cancer – on their faces. The participants applied 5 percent fluorouracil cream to their faces twice daily for two weeks. The researchers said that the number of actinic keratoses declined from an average of 11.6 lesions per person to an average of 1.5 lesions. There were also ... Read more
Related support groups: Carac, Actinic Keratosis