Researchers Use New Tools to Combat Skin Cancer

There’s something new under the sun at South Dakota State University: Researchers are working with molecules that protect against skin cancer and may even help undo the sun’s damage.

Distinguished professor Chandradhar Dwivedi, head of the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department in the College of Pharmacy at SDSU, said the work could be commercialized within 10 years.

“We are looking at a number of molecules that can be used with sunscreen or without sunscreen. They are not simply blocking the radiation, but they are reversing the damage caused by radiation,” Dwivedi said.

Exposure to ultraviolet light, especially in summertime, can contribute to skin cancer. Farmers, construction workers and others who spend long hours exposed to sunlight are among those most at risk.

People are becoming more aware of the risk of skin cancer thanks to educational efforts. More people wear sunscreens, though Dwivedi cautioned that sunscreens must be re-applied at regular intervals to provide optimum protection.

“We have been saying for a long time that prevention is the best medicine,” Dwivedi said. “We have to make the effort to prevent the disease before we treat it.”

Nevertheless, some new strategies are emerging that could make sunscreens and lotions even more effective against skin cancer.

Here’s a look at SDSU’s research of skin product components:

— Alpha-santalol is the name of a molecule that provides one of the main components of oil of sandalwood. Dwivedi has made alpha-santalol a focus of his research for nearly 15 years.

“This product has been very effective in preventing skin cancer caused by chemicals and by UV radiation,” Dwivedi said.

“We have done our work in animal models,” according to the researcher. “Now it’s ready to go for testing in humans.”

“Best of all, this molecule has a very nice fragrance, so people will not mind using it.

“It smells nice, and at the same time, it prevents chemically-caused or UV-induced skin cancer.”

— Another molecule called sarcophine-diol, made from a product called sarcophine coming from coral found in the Red Sea, has been a focus of SDSU research over the past five years.

Sarcophine-diol is effective in micrograms, as compared to milligrams, for other chemo-preventive products.

In other words it is effective in a concentration of about one-thousandth of what the scientific literature suggests for other chemo-preventive agents used against chemically and UV-induced skin cancer.

SDSU testing has examined two models thus far and is expanding to other models.

Dwivedi said collaboration with SDSU assistant professor Hesham Fahmy is moving that work forward.