Research from A.M. Forsea and Co-Authors Provides New Data about Skin Cancer.

According to recent research from Bucharest, Romania, "The general public and health professionals are increasingly choosing the Internet to access skin cancer prevention information. To identify the optimal mechanism for finding skin cancer educational resources through the Internet and to characterize the resources currently available on-line."

"A survey of experts involved in skin cancer prevention, followed by standardized searches through popular general Internet search engines using a list of 10 terms relevant to skin cancer prevention resources. Internet search was the preferred modality for identifying skin cancer educational resources of all survey participants. The five most-trusted Internet sites identified by the survey participants ranked within the top 10 most findable web sites using general search engines. Ninety-six of 1,000 web pages retrieved using general web-search engines provided information regarding specific skin cancer prevention resources. Seven databases were identified that catalogued educational resources from multiple sources. Peer-reviewed analysis of the outcomes associated with the educational resources was available for only four of 489 resources identified (2.7%). Information on skin cancer educational resources available on the Internet is abundant but redundant, and direct access to these resources remains difficult. No sites were identified that comprehensively catalogued and characterized the resources available from the leading providers," wrote A.M. Forsea and colleagues (see also Skin Cancer).

The researchers concluded: "The authors have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters."

Forsea and colleagues published their study in Dermatologic Surgery (Skin Cancer Prevention Educational Resources: Just a Click Away? Dermatologic Surgery, 2010;36(12):1962-1967).

For additional information, contact A.M. Forsea, Sos Stefan Cel Mare 44, Bl 33A, Ap 52, Sector 2, Bucharest, Romania.

Publisher contact information for the journal Dermatologic Surgery is: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc., Commerce Place, 350 Main St., Malden 02148, MA, USA.

Keywords: City:Bucharest, Country:Romania, Oncology, Risk and Prevention, Skin Cancer, Skin Carcinoma, Skin Neoplasms, Surgery

This article was prepared by Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2011, Medical Devices & Surgical Technology Week via NewsRx.com.