Malignant melanoma originates from the pigment-producing melanocytes in the epidermal basal layer, and is considered to develop in a multi-step process. By using a systems level approach to analyze the melanoma proteome with respect to clinical outcome based on genome-wide transcriptomics, 205 genes were found to be associated with prognostic outcome...Read more

Melanoma is a common form of cancer in the skin and among skin cancers it is the most deadly form. Melanoma originates from cells of melanocytic origin and most typically begins as a small intraepidermal tumor (melanoma in situ). As the tumor continues to grow and progress, tumor cells invade the epidermis and eventually spread to regional lymph nodes and subsequently via hematogenic spread to distant organs. Tumor thickness of the primary tumor is the most important determining prognostic factor and thus is early discovery of key importance for survival.

The cancer image of the month shows skin with growth of a cutaneous melanoma...Read more