BACKGROUND: The treatment of different skin conditions with spa waters is a long tradition dating back to at least late Hellenism. Interestingly, independent scientific examinations studying the effect of spa waters are scarce. OBJECTIVE: In the present in vitro study, we compared the effect of culture media supplemented with (a) thermal spa waters (La Roche-Posay, Avene) and (b) two natural mineral drinking waters (Heppinger, Adelholzener) on physiological parameters in HaCaT keratinocytes. METHODS: The different medium preparations were investigated with regard to cell proliferation and cell damage. Moreover, the impact on inflammation parameters with and without ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation was examined. RESULTS: Two popular thermal spring waters were found to suppress cell proliferation and cell damage. Moreover, these waters reversed the induction of interleukin-6, as measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and promoter transactivation, and the formation of reactive oxygen species after UVB stimulation. Of note, the two natural mineral waters, which are distributed as drinking waters, had some effect on the above-mentioned parameters but to a lesser extent. CONCLUSION: In summary, our results show that spa waters, and particularly those derived from thermal springs, reduce parameters associated with inflammation. It seems likely that trace elements such as selenium and zinc are critical for the observed effects.
Cell Proliferation ; Culture Media ; Drinking ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans* ; Inflammation* ; Interleukin-6 ; Keratinocytes* ; Mineral Waters ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Selenium ; Skin ; Trace Elements ; Transcriptional Activation ; Water* ; Zinc

Metastases of uveal melanoma (UM) spread predominantly to the liver. Due to low response rates to systemic therapies, liver-directed therapies (LDT) are commonly used for tumor control. The impact of LDT on the response to systemic treatment is unknown. A total of 182 patients with metastatic UM treated with immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) were included in this analysis. Patients were recruited from prospective skin cancer centers and the German national skin cancer registry (ADOReg) of the German Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group (DeCOG). Two cohorts were compared: patients with LDT (cohort A, n = 78) versus those without LDT (cohort B, n = 104). Data were analyzed for response to treatment, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). The median OS was significantly longer in cohort A than in cohort B (20.1 vs. 13.8 months; P = 0.0016) and a trend towards improved PFS was observed for cohort A (3.0 vs. 2.5 months; P = 0.054). The objective response rate to any ICB (16.7% vs. 3.8%, P = 0.0073) and combined ICB (14.1% vs. 4.5%, P = 0.017) was more favorable in cohort A. Our data suggest that the combination of LDT with ICB may be associated with a survival benefit and higher treatment response to ICB in patients with metastatic UM.
Humans ; CTLA-4 Antigen ; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors/therapeutic use* ; Liver ; Prospective Studies ; Skin Neoplasms