Skin cancer drug smoothes wrinkles - Study

There is a side effect though, a healing process as the skin becomes red and irritated, but if you have gone through a major chemical peel or something like this, it may not be an issue. After the treatment is gone, the skin heals and wrinkles are less and you end up with softer skin, as well as getting rid of the cancerous spots too. On the positive side if you need to go through the therapy, there is a bright spot at the end. BD

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A cream used to treat the early signs of skin cancer may erase wrinkles and leave behind younger-looking skin, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

They said Valeant Pharmaceuticals' cream Efudex, which is used to treat actinic keratoses, a precancerous form of squamous cell carcinoma, improved the appearance of skin, smoothing out rough spots and wrinkles, improving skin color, and erasing brown spots.

Sachs said the cream appears to be causing a wound healing response that leads to an increase in collagen production, which is improving the appearance of wrinkles.

"The drug has been around for many years," said Dr. Dana Sachs of the University of Michigan, whose study appears in the Archives of Dermatology.