Tobacco and alcohol both contain similar carcinogenic substances, with the risk of cancer increased if one is vulnerable to the effects of alcohol in low doses, according to Finnish research. Read the full story

Twelve charges of fraud, in addition to sex offences, have led to the indictment of a would-be western Swedish practitioner. Read the full story

Actavis has decided to give Icelandic health institutions a gift by offering the company’s first hypodermic cancer drugs on the Icelandic market for free. A year’s supply of five different drugs is being made available to Icelandic health institutions without charge: four from 1st April 2009 and one from 1st January 2010. Read the full story

The Icelandic Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde, in a press conference held at noon today, announced he will be stepping down as the leader of the Independence Party due to his grave health condition. He has been diagnosed with a malignant cancer of the oesophagus. Read the full story

Dorrit Moussaieff, Iceland’s First Lady, accepted this year’s first pink ribbon Tuesday morning at the head office of the The Icelandic Cancer Society in Reykjavik.

Public sale of the pink ribbons began in earnest on Wednesday and the society has set a goal of selling 40,000 ribbons.

The sale of pink ribbons Is a fundraising tool used by the Cancer Society to raise funds for breast cancer research. The ribbon is created by Read the full story

Scientists Reykjavik-based deCODE Genetics, in collaboration with Radboud University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, have announced the discovery of two common variants in the human genome that increase the risk of bladder cancer.

Approximately 20 percent of people of European descent carry two copies of the first variant, which puts them at a 50 percent higher risk of developing bladder cancer than those without the variant. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer in the United States.

The study analysed genotypic data from more than 40,000 patients and controls from Iceland, the Netherlands and eight other European countries. The research paper, entitled Read the full story

Icelandair’s Special Children Travel Fund has been sending children with serious illnesses on dream trips with their families since 2003.

Usually the fund tries to help around 20 families per year enjoy a long holiday in Florida or any other Icelandair destination the child chooses.

Recently the fund broke with tradition by sending nearly 100 Icelandic families on a day trip to Scandinavia’s biggest theme park.

The children, who all suffered from cancer, arrived in Gothenburg, Sweden at 11 in the morning and were whisked off to Liseberg Amusement Park for a day of family fun. Then it was back onboard a flight to Iceland in time for bed.

The trip was funded by Icelandair’s Special Children Fund and by the generosity of Icelandair staff and customers.

All the Icelandair staff gave their time for free, so only the flights and entrance fees came from the Special Children Fund.

“It is precious for the children and their family to find that they are not fighting this alone. Many of these children just finished a cancer treatment or are still in a tough treatment. This kind of a trip gives them a change to think about something else than the illness for one day.” says Oskar Orn Gudbrandsson, manager of the Organisation for cancer sick children (SKB).

Icelandair is Iceland’s largest and oldest airline. With over 70 years’ experience, the company connects Iceland with 24 destinations in Europe and North America.

Since 2003, Icelandair has offered passengers the chance to contribute towards the company’s Special Children Fund onboard all its flights and through its Saga Club frequent flyer programme.

For more information on the Special Children Travel Fund and on flights to Iceland, visit www.icelandair.net

Several new studies, including one conducted by Iceland’s DeCODE Genetics, have reinforced the connection between a gene for skin tone and the risk of developing skin cancer, according to reports in the New Scientist.

The studies found that genes, rather than specific skin pigmentation, are the strongest indicators of skin cancer risk. The exact gene was identified by researchers from Australia and Iceland, who studied thousands of people in order to find the one gene which contributed both to a person’s particular skin tone and to their risk of developing cancer.

According to DeCODE Genetics’ CEO, Kari Stefansson, sun exposure and skin colour are not the only factors involved. The research team in Reykjavik found a genetic mutation they call ASIP, which, when present, indicates that a person has twice the risk of developing melanoma than someone without the mutation, even if that person is a resident of Iceland, where sunshine is less intense than in Australia.

In order to learn more about the connections between cancer and skin pigmentation, DeCODE studied people of all skin and hair colourations from Iceland, Sweden and Eastern Europe. The research team discovered two variations of the ASIP gene which strongly correlated with red hair, freckles and sensitivity to the sun. The same mutation also correlated with a highly increased chance of melanoma.

Previously, researchers concluded that exposure to sun played a strong part in the development of the melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, but current research points to a strong genetic role.

“In Iceland you can avoid sunlight because it is so rare,” Stefansson said.

The research indicates that screening people based on both skin colour and genes could play a role in preventing skin cancer.

As of 1st of May, Icelanders have been paying a new price for the drug Metvix. The Icelandic pharmaceutical reimbursement authority recently accepted a new price for the drug equal to the Scandinavian average plus 15 percent. In addition, the authority approved full reimbursement for the drug, according to Photocure.

The Icelandic pharmaceutical reimbursement authority made the decision based on the benefit of the drug to patients in Iceland. Metvix, often used in conjunction with Aktilte, is a non-invasive, effective treatment for skin cancer. Health economic analyses have proved that Metvix is good value for money both to society and the population at large, as well as to the health care service.

Metvix has been approved in the European Union and European Economic Area for the treatment of actinic keratosis, Bowen’s Disease and Basal Cell Carcinoma. Metvix is also a skin cancer treatment cream which is used in combination with a red light treatment known as Aktilte, which activates the drug after it has been absorbed into the cancer cells.

When the cream is applied on the skin, photoactive molecules are accumulated in neoplastic tissue. The red light generates reactive oxygen species in the presence of oxygen, which is able to destroy the neoplastic cells while preserving healthy tissue.

Metvix and Aktilite are both registered trademarks of Photocure ASA.

The results of three scientific studies have finally come up with a plausible reason why some smokers develop lung cancer while others are spared. The research, some of which was performed by Iceland’s deCode Genetics, points to genetic factors predisposing some smokers to cancer and keeping others healthy, according to a recent report in Scientific America.

In two studies, a specific chromosome (15 in the sequence of 23) has been identified as being responsible for an increased risk of developing lung cancer. The third study links the same mutation in that gene to a tendency for smokers to become addicted to nicotine, and therefore become more prone to lung cancer.

Lung cancer is a growing problem in America with some 200,000 people diagnosed with the disease every year and 150,000 deaths attributed to it annually.

Research suggests that people with a specific genetic mutation on chromosome 15 have up to a 30 per cent greater chance of developing lung cancer than those without it.

For Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the studies also provided insight into genetic links to addiction. The studies, she said, provide “new targets for starting to think about how to treat drug addiction, and also of course, for the prevention or treatment of lung cancer”.

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