Mole Mapping

Mole mapping is a procedure used for surveillance of skin for malignant melanoma. Skin is examined, and through the use of dermoscopy, lesions of concern are identified and evaluated. Typically, mole mapping is done by means of photography or digital images of the whole body surface. This is kept as a record for future comparison to identify new lesions, or […]

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New technique predicts which melanoma patients are at risk for cancer recurrence, spread

For most patients, melanoma begins with a small, pigmented spot on their skin that they notice starts to change. Many primary melanomas can be cured by having this lesion removed, but melanoma can also recur and spread; an analysis of the removed lesion can offer some information on the likelihood that the cancer will come back. Today, lesions are analyzed […]

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Researchers identify one driver of melanoma spread

Using a small noncoding RNA, microRNA 211, and tools that track the stability and decay of the protein-coding and noncoding RNAs in lab-grown melanoma cells, a team led by a Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researcher identified highly unstable RNA molecules in human melanomas, including a novel miR-211 target gene DUSP3. Ranjan J. Perera, Ph.D., associate professor of oncology at […]

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MDM2 counteracts resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors for melanoma therapy

A study from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Department of Veterans Affairs led by Anna Vilgelm, MD, Ph.D., and Ann Richmond, Ph.D., has identified a possible second-line treatment for melanoma patients. The potential treatment would render CDK4/6 inhibitors, a class of drugs prescribed for some breast cancers, also effective against melanoma by combining the inhibitors with MDM2 compounds, which are […]

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Immunotherapy effective against hereditary melanoma

Individuals with an inherited form of skin cancer often have a poor prognosis. The type of immunotherapy that was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is, however, particularly effective in this patient group, research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The study is published in the Journal of Medical Genetics. Congenital mutations of the CDKN2A gene are […]

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Older melanoma patients have better response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy

Patient age correlates with response to immunotherapy in melanoma and depleting regulatory T cells in young patients may have a therapeutic potential to enhance response in younger patients, according to research from The Wistar Institute. Study results were published online in Clinical Cancer Research. Immune checkpoint blockade therapy has been recently approved for treatment of melanoma based on its ability […]

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Catch Skin Cancer Early with Self Exams

If you’ve been outside, you’re at risk for skin cancer. That’s right – everyone is a potential target. But this most common cancer is easiest to cure if diagnosed and treated early. Learn how to be a skin cancer detective to protect your skin and health. Types According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 1 in 5 people will develop […]

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New treatment strategy exploits acquired vulnerability in drug-resistant melanoma

Cancer cells that develop resistance to drugs pay a price for this by simultaneously developing a new vulnerability. If this acquired vulnerability can be identified, it may be exploited clinically. A team of cancer researchers, led by Rene Bernards of the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Oncode Institute, have now exposed this acquired vulnerability in melanoma that has developed resistance to […]

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