I was hoping not to comment at all on this issue, but it's not very often that dermatology makes the front page of every tabloid in the country. Well, not really dermatology -- a dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein.

Yes, Dr. Klein is the dermatologist for none other than Michael Jackson. A professor of dermatology and medicine at UCLA Medical School, he is also a favorite of stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, who frequent his Beverly Hills clinic. Rumors have been circulating that he has provided unnecessary prescription drugs such as Oxycontin and Diprivan (propofol) to Jackson. Oh, then there's also the rumor that he's the biological father of Jackson's children. Titillating? To some. Significant in the larger scheme of things? No.

Perhaps Dr. Klein can use his 15 minutes of fame constructively by advocating for yearly skin exams or wearing sunscreen. I'm not holding my breath!

With skin cancer rates skyrocketing, 21 states have introduced legislation this year that would newly restrict the indoor tanning industry or strengthen existing laws, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Twenty-nine states already have laws on the books regulating tanning by minors.

Since 2005, the World Health Organization has recommended that no one under the age of 18 should use tanning beds, because overexposure to broad-spectrum ultraviolet radiation could lead to basal cell or squamous cell skin cancers and more dangerous melanomas. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has also declared UV radiation from the sun or from artificial sources such as tanning beds to be a known carcinogen.

Predictably, the indoor tanning industry says tanning beds are safe and warnings about the dangers of limited exposure to sunlight or UV radiation are exaggerated. The AAD disagrees: they say tanning is a risky behavior and studies have shown that those who use tanning beds before age 35 have a significantly increased risk of developing melanoma.

The bottom line is that tanning is the skin's response to injury from UV ray exposure, which is proven to lead to DNA damage. Experts agree that there is no such things as a safe tan. Everybody, especially young adults and children, should put a priority on their health over vanity and avoid tanning salons.

People are bad enough about using sunscreen properly, but they are even more lax about protecting their lips. You didn't know that skin cancer can affect the lips? You're not alone.

The skin on your lips is very thin and is more prone to sun damage compared to the skin in the rest of your body. Especially common is squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common type of skin cancer. It's even more likely to occur on your lower lip -- where you get more sun exposure.

Unfortunately, over 60% of regular sunscreen users skip their lips. Even worse, wearing shiny lip gloss focuses more UV rays on your lips and may even increase your risk. So if you're going to be exposed to sunlight for more than 20 minutes, you should use an SPF 30 lip balm and reapply several times a day -- including after eating or swimming.

If you have any symptoms of skin cancer on the lip -- including a sore that does not heal, thickening of the lips, numbness, pain, or unexplained regular bleeding -- see your doctor promptly for an evaluation.

As I detailed in my last post, the huge ASCO medical conference a few weekends ago highlighted some good news about potential upcoming treatments for melanoma skin cancer. But wait, there's more!

• A small study suggested that taking vitamin D reduced the risk of relapse from melanoma, although this is still a controversial topic.
• A review of almost 11,000 melanoma patients showed that 3.7% later developed another melanoma lesion on their skin. The good news is that this so-called "second primary" melanoma did not decrease survival.
• Many sessions focused on prognosis research: trying to figure out what factors are important for predicting survival and thus choosing the best treatment. For example, patients with ulcerated tumors (tumors that have broken through the skin) were shown to be much more sensitive to treatment with interferon-alfa2b after surgery. Also, the behavior of a set of 82 genes was shown to predict whether or not a patient will respond to dacarbazine (a common chemotherapy drug). Other molecules were also shown to be potentially important: miRNA, CTAg, Ki67, ERCC1, ERCC4, MATP, and more. Hopefully in the future, these prognostic factors will enable doctors to "customize" treatment to the specific biology of individual patients.
• For those with stage III melanoma trying to decide whether or not to do a complete lymph node dissection, a long-term study suggested that the surgery doesn't improve the survival of patients with a small amount of melanoma (less than 0.1 millimeters) in their sentinel lymph node. This analysis won't settle the ongoing controversy about this topic, but it was a large study that will help your doctor weigh the pros and cons of the procedure.

As always, keep in mind that these presentations were made at a conference and so must be considered preliminary until they are published in a medical journal. Nevertheless, it was an exciting meeting that promises some real changes to the treatment of this devastating disease in the next few years -- finally!