Skin Cancer Cream Eases Out Wrinkles -
Study Claims
Published On : Friday, June 19,
2009
A recent study conducted by a group of United States-based
researchers has revealed that a cream commonly used in treating
early stage of skin cancer can also be applied to achieve a
younger-looking skin.
Sold in drugstores under the brand name Efudex, this cream is known
with its generic name fluorouracil that is often used in treating
actinic keratoses. Actinic keratoses refer to the crusty or scaly
bumps which are the precancerous form of carcinoma on the skin. This
skin problem is frequent among fair-skinned elders, and is not
normally fatal.
The generic drug, fluorouracil is actually a chemotherapy drug that
helps in treating cases of cancer involving the pancreas, colon and
others. Previous studies involving cancer patients who were treated
with fluorouracil infusions, physicians have noted that there are
noticeable changes on the skin of the patients who participated in
the study. This study has led to the further development of the
fluorouracil skin cream.
This recent scientific research has proven that the said medication
does not only help in treating cases of keratoses, but also improved
skin of the patients over time. The doctors claimed that the skin
cream has smoothened out the rough spots and almost removed the
wrinkles. The cream also improved the patients’ skin colour while
removing the brown spots.
University of Michigan Medical School’s Dr. Dana L. Sachs has
assessed the observed changes among 21 healthy volunteers diagnosed
with sun-damaged skin actinic keratoses. These volunteers were asked
to apply 5% fluorouracil cream on their face twice a day for a span
of two weeks.
Six months later, there was a significant change observed among the
21 patients. The lesions of the actinic keratoses cases were
decreased. The skin cream also helped in decreasing obvious wrinkles
among the volunteers. Skin of the patients was softer after using
the cream, while fewer brown spots were also observed.
According to the researchers, the cream can cause a wound healing
response, which means it helps increase the collagen production,
which somehow helps in the process of making wrinkles less visible.
However, the skin cream can also cause the skin to appear inflamed
and red, which is an effect that manifests after the initial
application that could last for a few weeks.
The researchers claimed that it is possible to use this skin cream
for cosmetic reasons someday, since it is relatively less expensive. |
