Cutaneous Melanoma Case Study

     There are three main types of skin cancer. These are malignant melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. While melanoma is the most life-threatening of the three, it is also the most

Unlike other cancers which we can develop, melanoma can often be detected on the skin which allows doctors to treat it at its early stages resulting in less complications and lower death rates to patients, again if left undetected at its early stages this can easily spread to distant areas and distant organs. Once melanoma has spread to other areas of the body which is classified as stage IV it is diagnosed as

Although there are several types of skin cancer, the most aggressive form is melanoma. This cancer of the skin involves mass replication of the pigment producing melanocyte cells, which are located in the epidermis, below the basal layer. There are several factors involved with the onset of melanoma including, exposure to ultraviolet rays, genetic predisposition, numerous nevi (moles), immunosuppression, and environmental exposure to carcinogens.

Mayo Clinic. (2011, April 21). Surgical oncology and melanoma - Mayo Clinic [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL4dIlfWUI4

Many sporadic melanomas are also found to have mutations or loss of expression of this tumor suppressor gene, known to act in the same signaling pathway as the retinoblasma cases (see 3.3 Tumor suppressor genes).

There is insufficient evidence to determine how gene expression profiling may be used to guide clinical decisions related to the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous melanoma. Specifically, it is not known how or whether decisions concerning treatment and surveillance are improved over the current standard of care, and it is unknown whether health outcomes are improved as a result those decisions. Further, the clinical practice guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommend against routine prognostic testing for low versus high metastatic risk outside of clinical trials. Thus, the use of DecisionDX Melanoma gene expression profile testing is considered investigational for guiding clinical decisions related to the diagnosis and treatment of any condition.

Like most diseases there are treatments and drugs used to treat the cancer. These treatments include chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, medicinal therapy used to target specific cells, and biological therapy used to help strengthen the immune system. Medicine that is used during the stages of melanoma are “Vemurafenib (Zelboraf), dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) are targeted therapy drugs used to treat advanced melanoma.” (Mayo Clinic Staff 2016). More test such as biopsies are taken after targeted therapy to analyze how well the drugs are helping diminish the cancerous

Acral Lentiginous Melanoma or ALM is a rare subtype of melanoma that occurs more often in people of color. It accounts for 2 to 3 percent of the all of the world’s cases of melanoma (Bradford). Dr. R. J. Reed in 1976 was the first to describe it as the appearance of dark lesions on the hands and feet. Radial or lentiginous was the main phase of its growth that lasts several years then it changes into a vertical or dermal invasive stage (Bradford). Several universities have released results on tests on ALM but since it is rare it was difficult for the research groups to get solid information because of small sample sizes. Nonetheless, studies by scientists such as Dr. R. J. Reed we able to determine that the survival rate for three years with the melanoma was on average at 11% (Bradford).

The care of patients who have cutaneous melanoma (CM) has undergone a dramatic shift during the past 5 decades. Excision of pre-metastatic; CM has been the overriding goal. because once distant metastases have occurred. prognosis is dismal. Skin awareness and self-examination by patients. screening examinations of the skin, nails, and mucous membranes by physicians, and careful long-term Surveillance of patients determined in be al high risk for CM 'based on identifiable historic and phenotypic traits are having an immediate positive impact on CM. related mortality and CM-related case. fatality rate.

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer, but what is it, and how does it form? Well, according to the Mayo Clinic, melanoma causes DNA damage to cells which begin to grow out of control and can eventually form a mass of cancerous cells (Mayoclinic.org). Elderly men are at highest risk, but melanoma is the most common cancer in young adults 25 to 29 years old (ASCO). Therefore, all ages are prone to melanoma. Melanoma not only occurs in men, it also occurs in women. The

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime. Consider that 90% of nonmelanoma skin cancers are associated with high exposure to UV radiation from the sun (which means 90% of nonmelanoma skin cancers are preventable!) WebMD reports that Melanoma ( a severe type of skin cancer) often starts as a change in skin or a mole growth.

Melanoma, a type of skin cancer that normally starts in the melanocytes, a type of skin cell. In the past few years, doctors have noticed a spike in the number of cases of Melanoma. Many things can cause Melanoma, such as sun exposure or even laying in tanning beds. The use of tanning beds is the one of the large reasons why doctors believe this spike has occurred. Men are more venerable to skin cancer than women are, although women who tan are obviously more prone to getting this type of skin cancer. In the past few years, doctors have seen a rise in middle-aged women. Also compared to the 1970s doctor’s suspect that the way our clothes and bathing suits are designed now days could have something to do with this increase. The bathing

The overall incidence of liver- dominant metastatic melanoma is low, particularly in comparison with that of other primary tumors, such as colon and breast cancer. However, ocular melanoma is the most common intraocular malignant tumor in adults.Due to its special biology, metastatic lesions most commonly develop most commonly in the

Although uveal melanoma is a rare malignancy, it is the most common primary intraocular tumor in adults (Kashyap, 2016) and occurs at a rate of 5.1 per million per year (Kaliki, 2016). Uveal melanoma may develop anywhere within the uveal tract, however it most commonly arises in the choroid (90%), followed by the ciliary body (6%) and then the iris (4%) (Kaliki, 2016). The at-risk population includes those with light skin, light eyes, ocular melanocytosis, nevi of the iris or choroid and the BRCA1-associated protein mutation (Kaliki, 2016). Uveal melanoma has been found to be most common in the middle-aged Caucasian population with a median age of 62 years old at presentation and with a 30% higher incidence among males relative to females

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the most common form of cancer in the United States is melanoma skin cancer (2014). It is crucial that melanoma needs to be detected at an early stage to improve survival rates. There are current techniques such as a dermatoscopy that can help the physician to make a diagnosis, but it remains difficult and the need of new techniques or tools is required to improve the physician’s diagnostic abilities. According to cancer statistics, the incidence of melanoma has doubles and been increasing steadily in recent decades (2011).