BMJ Editor says all trials must be registered and the results published A special report published by the BMJ today finds that thousands of melanoma patients around the world are undergoing an expensive and invasive procedure called sentinel node biopsy, despite a lack of clear evidence and concerns that it may do more harm than good……read more
New research on mice shows that drug-resistant melanoma tumors shrink when treatment is interrupted, or given a “holiday”, suggesting that altering the dose pattern of cancer drug treatment in this manner could be a simple way to extend survival in human patients with late-stage disease. However, only human trials can verify if this is the case……read more
Researchers in California and Switzerland have discovered that melanomas that develop resistance to the anti-cancer drug vemurafenib (marketed as Zelboraf), also develop addiction to the drug, an observation that may have important implications for the lives of patients with late-stage disease……read more
The risk of skin cancer from tanning beds is two times higher than spending the same length of time in the Mediterranean midday summer sun. The finding came from a new study conducted by a team of researchers at the University of Dundee, Scotland, and published in the British Journal of Dermatology……read more
Smartphone apps where you can upload photos of skin lesions and have them analyzed for likelihood of cancer can get it wrong an alarming number of times. This is the finding of a new US study whose authors warn that users who rely on such assessments instead of going to the doctor with their concerns could be delaying a correct diagnosis of melanoma and timely, life-saving treatment……read more
Two new mutations that collectively occur in 71 percent of malignant melanoma tumors have been discovered in what scientists call the “dark matter” of the cancer genome, where cancer-related mutations haven’t been previously found……read more
US scientists have found two new mutations in non-coding (formerly dubbed “junk”) DNA that occur in 71% of malignant melanomas. They say the highly recurrent mutations may be the most common in this deadliest form of skin cancer, more common than the already well-known protein-coding BRAF gene, and may well offer an alternative target for treatment……read more
The surface of your skin, called the epidermis, is a complex mixture of many different cell types – each with a very specific job. The production, or differentiation, of such a sophisticated tissue requires an immense amount of coordination at the cellular level, and glitches in the process can have disastrous consequences……read more
About ten percent of all cases of malignant melanoma are familial cases. The genome of affected families tells scientists a lot about how the disease develops. Prof. Dr. Rajiv Kumar of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) together with Prof. Dr……read more
With the X-ray vision of DESY’s light source DORIS, a research team from Hamburg and Iceland has uncovered the molecular structure of a master regulator central to the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma……read more
